Niger State has plunged into fresh chaos after gunmen swept through rural communities, killing scores of villagers, abducting children, and reducing a busy market to ashes. What residents describe as a coordinated terror campaign has once again exposed the fragility of security in Nigeria’s hinterlands, reigniting national anger over repeated mass killings with little resistance.
Residents of Agwara and Borgu local government areas say the attackers struck with ruthless precision, mowing down men, women, and children in Kasuwan Daji near Papiri and Kaima village. Local accounts put the death toll at no fewer than 42, while others remain missing, dragged into the surrounding forests.
Survivors say the gunmen operated for hours, setting shops ablaze, looting food supplies, and leaving bodies scattered across the market square before vanishing without challenge.
Shockingly, some of those abducted were pupils who had only recently regained freedom after a previous mass school kidnapping in the same axis. Parents say fear has returned full force, with families fleeing across rivers and into neighbouring villages to escape what many now call an unending siege.
The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora confirmed that the attackers also targeted a mission house, destroying church property, stealing vehicles and cash, and narrowly missing the parish priest. Clergy officials say villagers, including women and children, were taken during the raid.
The Niger State Police Command acknowledged the attack, confirming that over 30 people were killed, while admitting that the actual figure may be higher. Police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said joint security teams have since been deployed and rescue operations are ongoing.
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