Nigeria: Armed gangs kill at least 30, torch market in Niger state raid; dozens kidnapped
Armed gangs killed more than 30 people and abducted others in a raid on Kasuwan Daji village in Niger state, police said, the latest mass attack in a region scarred by bandit violence and recent school kidnappings.
- Advertisement -
Gunmen swept into Kasuwan Daji, in the Kabe district of northwestern Nigeria’s Niger state, and set a market ablaze before looting shops for food, according to authorities. “Over 30 victims lost their lives during the attack, some persons were also kidnapped,” Waziri Abiodun, the state police spokesman, said.
The Catholic Church in Kontagora, which oversees the area, said the death toll was higher than the police figure, posting on Facebook that more than 40 people were killed and that “the bandits operated for hours with no security presence.” Images reviewed by AFP showed several victims with their hands tied behind their backs.
The attack struck less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Papiri village, where armed men abducted more than 250 students and staff from a Catholic school in November. Authorities later announced the hostages were freed in two batches, without disclosing whether a ransom was paid.
President Bola Tinubu’s office said the latest attackers may have been “terrorists” fleeing parts of northwestern Nigeria after U.S. airstrikes on Christmas Day targeting militants linked to the Islamic State group. Abuja later said it approved the strikes.
The rampage underscores the scale and complexity of Nigeria’s security crisis. Africa’s most populous nation faces overlapping threats, including a long-running jihadist insurgency in the northeast, roving criminal gangs — widely known as “bandits” — who raid villages and carry out mass kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and center, deadly clashes between farmers and herders over land and water, and separatist tensions in the southeast.
On Christmas Eve, a suspected suicide bomber killed at least five people in an attack on a mosque in Borno state, the epicenter of the Islamist insurgency. The continuing violence has stretched the country’s security forces across vast rural areas where communities often complain of slow response times and limited protection.
Niger state has been among the hardest hit in recent months. Local leaders and residents say bandit factions splinter and regroup under pressure, moving across state lines and exploiting forests and poor roads to evade crackdowns. The market attack in Kasuwan Daji — and the proximity to the site of November’s mass school abduction — will likely intensify calls for tighter rural security and quicker response capabilities.
Tinubu has pledged a revamp of national security and increased defense spending in the 2026 budget. In early December, he replaced his defense minister, appointing a former top military commander to the post as his government faces pressure to stem spiraling violence that has claimed both Christian and Muslim lives.
Authorities have not provided a breakdown of the deceased or missing in Kasuwan Daji, and the full extent of the kidnappings remains unclear. Police did not immediately detail deployments or arrests linked to the raid.
Mass abductions and village raids remain a lucrative enterprise for armed groups in northern Nigeria, with families and local officials often coerced into paying ransoms. Residents in Niger state say the cycle persists despite periodic military operations, underscoring the need for sustained policing, intelligence gathering and development measures to curb the gangs’ influence.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
