kimberly-sutanto
President Bola Tinubu has directed security forces to hunt down the armed men behind coordinated raids on four villages in a remote area of Nigeria's Niger state, an order that followed the appearance of a social media video purportedly showing dozens of captives seated in a forest.
The assaults took place last Friday, when gunmen wearing military-style attire struck the communities of Dekara, Gidan Zana, Sabon Gida and Masaka. According to residents, several mosques were hit at the same time as worshippers gathered for prayers. A police spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, said the death toll exceeded 40, though the precise figure remains unverified.
Estimates of how many people were seized vary widely. A local youth leader told the BBC that as many as 500 residents might have been taken into the bush, a number that has yet to be confirmed by authorities. No demands for ransom have surfaced so far.
The captors' video has offered anguished families their first glimpse of missing loved ones. The youth leader, who declined to be named, said he spotted numerous acquaintances in the footage, including an elderly man from Gidan Zana whom he described as a grandfather figure to the community. He noted that relatives who recognized family members felt some comfort knowing they were alive, unlike households still awaiting any word.
Officials believe criminal gangs known locally as bandits — groups that terrorize swathes of Nigeria through mass kidnapping and looting — were responsible for the raids. A local official added a grim detail: as the attackers herded captives toward the forest, they left improvised explosive devices behind in parts of the affected villages. One teenage boy was killed when one of the devices detonated as he tried to flee.
The violence has emptied entire settlements. A blogger familiar with the region said many inhabitants have abandoned their homes, sheltering in nearby states or crossing into Benin. Some of those who survived are being treated in hospitals, including patients with severe wounds.
In a statement released through his spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu denounced the killings and abductions, insisting the perpetrators would face justice. "Those who carried out this cowardly attack on defenceless Nigerians are enemies of peace and enemies of humanity, who will not go scot-free," the statement read. The president also extended condolences to bereaved families.
Friday's raid is the latest escalation in the deteriorating security situation around Borgu, a border zone adjoining Kebbi and Kwara states as well as Benin. Earlier this month, police announced the rescue of 145 people kidnapped from four other villages in the same area, and local officials warn that jihadist fighters have been infiltrating communities in north-western Nigeria and along the frontier, imposing religious edicts on residents.
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