Phone blackout, crackdown on kidnappers reported in northwest Nigeria

FILE PHOTO: Security forces patrol as people wait for the arrival of the rescued schoolgirls in Jangebe, Zamfara, Nigeria March 3, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Mobile telephone networks were shut down in the northwestern Nigerian state of Zamfara, residents said on Monday, amid reports that authorities had ordered a blackout while they tackled armed gangs of kidnappers terrorising the area.

Two residents of Zamfara, reached by phone after they travelled to neighbouring Sokoto State, said their mobile networks had stopped functioning over the weekend.