No fewer than 40 people, including women and children, were killed on Saturday when suspected bandits attacked Kasuwan-Daji village and its local market in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
The attackers reportedly stormed the community in the evening, opening fire indiscriminately on residents and traders
They also razed the local market and several houses, looting food items and valuables worth millions of naira before fleeing with an unspecified number of abducted victims.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said security operatives received information around 9:00 p.m. on January 3 that suspected bandits, believed to have emerged from the National Park forest along Kabe District, had invaded Kasuwan-Daji. According to him, the assailants burnt the market, looted shops and carted away foodstuffs.
“A joint security team visited the area the following morning and confirmed that over 30 people lost their lives, while several others were kidnapped,” Abiodun said, adding that efforts are ongoing to rescue the abducted victims and restore normalcy to the area.
However, residents and community sources put the death toll much higher.
Some of the residents said at least 37 people were killed, noting that many people were still missing as of Sunday. They expressed fears that the casualty figure could rise as survivors are too afraid to return to the village to recover bodies due to the absence of security.
Rev. Fr. Stephen Kabirat, spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora, where the attack occurred, told local media that more than 40 people were killed during the assault and that some of those abducted were children.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the gunmen had been lurking around nearby communities for about a week before launching the attack, which reportedly lasted for nearly three hours. “The bodies are still there in Kasuwan-Daji village. If we don’t see any security, how can we go there?” he said.
The attack occurred near Papiri community, where more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were kidnapped from a Catholic school in November, raising fresh concerns about worsening insecurity in the area.
