At least 42 people have been killed and several others abducted after terrorists launched coordinated attacks on multiple communities in Agwarra and Borgu local government areas of Niger State.
Residents said the attackers had been raiding villages in Agwarra for more than a week without resistance, allegedly taking advantage of the absence of security operatives in the area. A local source said the gunmen moved freely from one community to another, killing residents, burning markets and abducting villagers, including women and children.
According to the source, 37 people were killed in Kasuwan Daji near Papiri, while five others lost their lives in Kaima village. Several people were also abducted, among them pupils and students of St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area.
“The government and security agencies should come to our aid. There is a serious crisis across the river where the students were abducted”, the source said, adding that the attackers had operated from nearby forests, wreaking havoc on communities over several days. On Saturday alone, the terrorists reportedly razed a market and abducted many residents.
Confirming the attacks, the Director of Communications of the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora, Rev. Father Stephen Kabirat, said more than 40 people had been killed, while several others were taken captive. He disclosed that the parish priest of a local mission narrowly escaped abduction when the attackers stormed the mission house three days earlier.
“They destroyed some religious items in the church, carted away two motorcycles and cash of over ₦200,000. They were looking for the priest, but he escaped. Some villagers, including children, were abducted”, Kabirat said.
A resident, who appealed to authorities for urgent intervention, said many villagers whose children were abducted had been forced to sleep in nearby bushes out of fear since returning from the affected areas.
The Niger State Police Command confirmed receiving reports of the attacks. In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the command received information at about 9 p.m. on Saturday that suspected bandits had attacked Kasuwan Daji in the Kabe District.
He said the attackers, believed to have emerged from the National Park Forest, invaded the area around 4:30 p.m., killing over 30 people, burning the market, looting shops and carting away food items.
Abiodun added that a joint security team had visited the affected communities and that efforts were ongoing to rescue the abducted victims and restore calm to the area, assuring that further developments would be communicated.
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