42 People Killed, Scores Abducted in Terrorist Attacks in Niger State

At least 42 residents including children have been killed and numerous others abducted following coordinated attacks by suspected terrorists in parts of Niger State, security and local sources say.

The violence erupted on Saturday in communities within the Agwarra and Borgu Local Government Areas, where gunmen struck homes and a local market, killing civilians and seizing villagers, including women and children.

According to the Niger State Police Command, reports of armed incursions first emerged around 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, with initial accounts indicating that assailants from the nearby National Park forest overran Kasuwan Daji in the Demo community. There, they shot and killed dozens of people, burned the market, looted shops and carted away food supplies and other goods.

Several eyewitnesses and residents have described scenes of terror, saying the attackers operated into the early hours of Sunday and targeted multiple settlements. Some accounts suggest that more than 40 individuals were tied up and killed during the raids, although exact numbers remain difficult to verify.

Local clerics and community sources reported that some of those abducted include pupils and students previously released from a separate mass kidnapping in the same area weeks earlier. The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora noted that its parish priest narrowly avoided abduction and that church property was vandalised during the assault.

In response, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed senior security officials, including the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, to track down and apprehend those responsible and to rescue those taken captive.

Niger State Governor Umaru Bago described the attacks as “cruel and nefarious” and expressed condolences to the victims’ families, while calling on residents to remain resilient. Condemnations have also come from other political and regional leaders who have urged intensified security action to prevent further loss of life and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The full number of those kidnapped remains unclear as security operations continue and authorities work to assess the scope of the attacks.