Nigeria: 30 killed in northern village attack; gunmen kidnap residents, destroy property

At least 30 villagers were killed and several others abducted when gunmen raided Kasuwan-Daji village in northern Nigeria’s Niger state on Saturday evening, police said Sunday. The attack is the latest in a cycle of deadly violence in the conflict-hit region.

The gunmen stormed the village in Borgu local government area, opening fire on residents and setting fire to the local market and several houses, Niger state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said in a statement.


Some residents said the death toll could be higher. “At least two residents put the number of people killed at 37 and said it could be much higher, as some people remained missing as of Sunday,” the report said. Residents also said security forces had not yet arrived in the area, contradicting police claims that officers had been deployed to search for those abducted.

Authorities said the attackers came from the National Park Forest along Kabe district, highlighting a pattern in which expansive, abandoned forest reserves are used as hideouts by armed gangs.

Such attacks are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where armed gangs often target remote communities with limited security and government presence.

Saturday’s raid occurred near the Papiri community, where more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were kidnapped from a Catholic school in November, underlining the ongoing threat to civilians in the region.