Suspected bandits have killed over 30 people and abducted dozens of others including children during a violent raid on communities in the Agwara and Borgu Local Government Areas of Niger State. The Niger State Police Command confirmed that the attackers struck the Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village on Saturday January 3 2026.
Police spokesperson SP Wasiu Abiodun stated that the bandits invaded the area from the National Park forest around 4:30 p.m. Witnesses reported that the gunmen arrived on motorcycles and opened fire indiscriminately before setting the market on fire and looting food items. Local sources and religious leaders confirmed that the death toll includes at least 37 residents in Kasuwan Daji and five others in nearby Kaima village with some victims found with their hands tied behind their backs.
The Director of Communications for the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora Rev. Father Stephen Kabirat noted that a parish priest narrowly escaped the assault. He reported that the attackers targeted a Mission House destroyed church property and stole motorcycles before moving into the villages to abduct residents. The church for the area has placed the death toll at over 40 victims.
This massacre follows a high profile kidnapping in the same region late last year. On November 21 2025 over 300 pupils and staff were taken from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri. While those victims were reportedly released by December 21 this latest attack has reignited fears that the security situation in Borgu and Agwara has reached a critical level.
President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack on Sunday and directed security agencies to hunt down the perpetrators. Federal authorities suggested the attackers may be terrorists fleeing from northwestern Nigeria following recent U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State linked militants. Joint security teams are currently conducting search operations in the Kainji Lake National Park to rescue the abducted victims and restore order to the region.
