Heavily armed gunmen killed at least 30 people and kidnapped several others during a violent assault on a remote village in northern Nigeria’s Niger state, local police confirmed to news agency Associated Press on Sunday. The incident marks the latest deadly episode in a region gripped by persistent violence and security challenges.
The raid unfolded Saturday evening in Kasuwan-Daji village within Niger state’s Borgu local government area. Police reports indicate the attackers descended on the community, shooting indiscriminately at residents while torching the village market and multiple homes, leaving extensive devastation behind.
Niger state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun stated, according to AP, that security forces had been dispatched to locate abducted villagers and restore order. Residents, however, contradicted this account, insisting no security personnel had arrived as of Sunday.
While authorities confirmed 30 fatalities, local residents reported substantially higher casualty figures. At least two villagers stated the death toll had climbed to 37 and cautioned it could rise further, as multiple residents remained unaccounted for. Among those abducted were reportedly women and children.
Reverend Father Stephen Kabirat, spokesperson for the Catholic Church of Kontagora Diocese, told local media the violence was even more catastrophic than initially reported. He stated the gunmen murdered more than 40 individuals and kidnapped several others, including children.
Villagers revealed the attackers had been spotted in neighboring communities roughly a week before the assault, prompting concerns about why preventive security measures weren’t taken. Survivors now fear returning to retrieve bodies of the deceased.
“The bodies are there (in Kasuwan-Daji village). If we don’t see any security, how can we go there?” one resident said, noting the attack continued for nearly three hours.
Such raids have grown increasingly frequent across Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where armed criminal groups regularly target rural areas with minimal government security presence. These gangs conduct mass killings, kidnappings for ransom and arson attacks, capitalizing on inadequate security infrastructure.
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Saturday’s assault took place near Papiri community, where over 300 schoolchildren and teachers were abducted from a Catholic school last November, underscoring the ongoing danger in the region.
Police indicated the raiders who struck Kasuwan-Daji village probably originated from the National Park Forest near Kabe district. Officials observed that expansive, unmonitored forest reserves throughout the area have become sanctuaries for armed gangs, allowing them to execute repeated attacks while evading security forces.
With agency inputs
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