Scores Abducted in Niger Mosque Attacks
Armed groups stormed multiple mosques and villages in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State during and shortly after Friday prayers on August 21, abducting scores of worshippers in one of the latest mass kidnappings to strike Nigeria’s north-central region.
Police confirmed the attacks but said the exact number of victims remains unknown. Residents and local officials have put the figure at more than 60, with some estimates exceeding 100 people still missing as of Sunday. Among those taken were men, women, children, community elders, the village head of Ka’aba, the chief imam of one of the mosques, and the 90-year-old father of the District Head of Dekara.
The assailants struck around 2 p.m. local time, first hitting Gidan-Zana and Kpenya villages before surrounding the Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district and other places of worship in Sabon-Gida and nearby communities. Survivors described hundreds of gunmen, some in military-style clothing and armed with rifles, knives and machetes, surrounding the congregations as prayers concluded. Worshippers were forced into nearby forests toward the Kainji Game Reserve area, a known hideout for armed groups.
Niger State Police Command spokesperson SP Wasiu Abiodun said joint security teams had been deployed for assessment and rescue operations. He initially reported no lives lost, though other accounts, including some attributed to police sources, mentioned dozens of deaths. The difficult terrain, poor roads and a collapsed bridge have slowed the response.
Local lawmaker Jafar Muhammad Shetiman Borgu and Borgu Local Government Chairman Abdullahi Nasir confirmed the scale of the raids. Residents accused the attackers of belonging primarily to the Lakurawa group, an Islamist-linked militia that has expanded activity near Nigeria’s border with Benin Republic. Some accounts also mentioned involvement or rivalry with the Mahmuda group; one survivor said a clash between the factions allowed some captives to escape.
On Sunday evening, a video circulated widely on social media appearing to show dozens of the abductees – including women and children, held in the open in rainy conditions, with gunshots audible in the background. Separately, the attackers released their own footage claiming responsibility for the abduction of about 500 people, a figure widely regarded as inflated.
Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago condemned the assault as “a grave and unacceptable” attack on the peace of the state. Commissioner for Information Obed Nuhu Nana said on Sunday that the number of victims and other details were still being verified and that a joint security operation was underway.
Hundreds of residents have fled the affected communities. More than 200 people from the Gbezhin area alone were reported to have sought refuge across the border in Benin Republic.
Borgu LGA, which borders Kebbi and Kwara states as well as Benin Republic, has seen a rise in raids by bandit and militant groups operating from forest reserves. Earlier this month, Nigerian security forces rescued more than 300 people previously abducted in the wider Kainji area in what officials described as one of their largest single-day operations.
