Gunmen attacked a market in northern Nigeria, killing 30 people and abducting several others, including children, in the latest deadly violence to strike Niger State’s vulnerable rural communities.
The attackers stormed Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, burning stalls and looting food items, according to Niger state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun. The assault occurred in the Borgu local government area, specifically in Kabe district.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as the gunmen arrived on motorcycles and opened fire indiscriminately on residents. “Women and children were not spared,” said Dauda Shakulle, who was wounded while fleeing. “There has been no presence of security forces since the attacks began. We are currently recovering corpses.”
The attackers also burned houses in addition to razing down the local market during the assault, which lasted up to three hours. Police deployed officers to search for the kidnapped victims and launched efforts to rescue them from their captors.
The gunmen had been lurking around nearby communities for about a week before launching the attack, according to residents who now fear for their safety. Survivors remain too afraid to recover bodies from the scene without security forces present.
Rev. Fr. Stephen Kabirat, spokesman for the Catholic Church of Kontagora Diocese, told local media that the gunmen killed more than 40 people. Some residents put the death toll at 37, while others suggested it could be much higher as several people remained missing as of Sunday. The conflicting figures reflect the chaos and ongoing danger in the area, where residents struggle to account for all victims.
The attackers arrived from the National Park Forest along Kabe district, police said, highlighting a persistent problem in Nigeria where expansive forest reserves serve as hideouts for armed gangs. These remote areas provide cover for criminal groups who exploit the difficult terrain and limited government presence.
The violence in Demo village came as part of a broader pattern of raids that began Friday in nearby villages including Agwarra, Borgu, Chukama and Shanga. The coordinated nature of these attacks suggests organized criminal networks operating across the region.
Saturday’s attack occurred near the Papiri community, where more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were kidnapped from a Catholic school in November. Those victims were released after nearly a month in captivity, with 130 children freed before Christmas.
President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack and directed authorities to hunt down the perpetrators. “These terrorists have tested the resolve of our country and its people,” Tinubu said in a statement. “They must face the full consequences of their criminal actions. No matter who they are or what their intent is, they must be hunted down. In addition, those who aid, abet, or enable them will also be brought to justice.”
The president also directed that all abducted victims be urgently rescued and that security operations around vulnerable communities, especially near forests, be intensified.
Such attacks have become alarmingly common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where dozens of rogue gangs seek control and often target remote communities with limited security and government presence. These criminal groups, locally known as “bandits,” have escalated their operations across northwestern and central Nigeria in recent months.
The banditry plaguing Nigeria’s northwest and central regions represents a complex security challenge that has intensified over the past several years. Criminal groups exploit weak governance structures and porous borders to operate with relative impunity. They engage in kidnapping for ransom, cattle rustling, and violent raids on villages, creating a climate of fear that has displaced thousands of residents.
Niger State has emerged as one of the hardest-hit areas by this wave of violence. The state’s vast territory includes significant forested areas and national parks that provide natural cover for armed groups. These geographical features, combined with limited road infrastructure and sparse security force deployment, create ideal conditions for criminal operations.
Security forces have struggled to contain the violence despite ongoing operations. The challenge stems partly from the sheer scale of territory requiring protection and the difficulty of tracking mobile groups operating from forest hideouts. Military and police resources are stretched thin across multiple conflict zones, limiting their effectiveness in any single area.
In some areas of northern Nigeria, vigilante groups have stepped in to fill security gaps left by overstretched government forces. These community-based defense organizations operate with varying degrees of effectiveness and legitimacy, sometimes creating additional complications for official security efforts.
School kidnappings represent a particularly insidious tactic employed by these criminal groups. By targeting educational institutions, the gangs maximize both the ransom potential and the psychological impact on communities. The November kidnapping at the Catholic school in Papiri demonstrates the scale these operations can reach, with hundreds of children held simultaneously.
Nigeria’s security crisis extends beyond the banditry in the northwest. The country’s northeast faces an ongoing Islamist insurgency involving groups like Boko Haram and its offshoots, while the southeast grapples with separatist violence and criminality. This multi-front security challenge strains the nation’s military and police resources, making comprehensive solutions difficult to implement.
The federal government has launched various military operations aimed at clearing forests of criminal elements and restoring security to affected communities. However, these operations have yielded mixed results, with armed groups often dispersing temporarily before regrouping once military pressure subsides.