Armed men stormed a mosque and surrounding communities in central Nigeria’s Niger State, abducting dozens of people during Friday prayers, according to police officials and local survivors reported by Al Jazeera. The raiders targeted the Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district of the Borgu Local Government Area at approximately 2pm local time on Friday. Prior to striking the mosque, the attackers moved through the nearby villages of Gidan-Zana and Kpenya.
Mosque and Village Raids Leave Dozens Kidnapped in Central Nigeria
Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun stated that law enforcement authorities were aware of the mass abductions. He noted that a joint security detachment had been deployed to the affected region to conduct assessments and carry out rescue operations. While local residents estimated that more than 60 worshippers were seized from the mosque, police officials stated they could not yet independently verify the exact number of people taken.
Conflicting Claims Over Responsible Groups and Casualties
Accounts from the ground offered differing details regarding the identity of the attackers and the death toll. Jibril Ahmad, a survivor of the assault on Dekara, stated that members of the Lakurawa armed group arrived in their hundreds carrying guns, knives, and machetes as detailed by The New Indian Express. Ahmad claimed the assailants targeted the community because residents were allegedly not practicing the true teachings of Islam, resulting in people being slaughtered.
Other local residents attributed the violence to different factions. While some pointed to the local jihadist group Ansaru, federal lawmaker Jafaru Mohammed and local survivors noted that a separate jihadist group known as Mahmuda intervened during the violence. Members of Mahmuda clashed with the Lakurawa fighters, enabling some of the captive worshippers to escape. Mohammed explained that members of the Mahmuda group opposed the doctrine of the Lakurawa and fought them upon learning of their actions. Police spokesperson Abiodun confirmed that authorities had not received official reports of anyone being killed during the initial Friday assaults, though separate medical sources and residents cited varying local death tolls that remained unverified by official authorities.
Escalating Violence, Landmines, and Regional Insecurity
The security situation in the Borgu area remained volatile as violence continued into Saturday. Residents reported that armed fighters returned to Dekara to seize additional captives to use as a bargaining chip ahead of an anticipated troop deployment. Abdullahi Ahmad described how fleeing civilians encountered extreme danger when their vehicle struck a landmine planted by the terrorists on a road leading out of Dekara, killing a man and his family.
Reports from Yahoo News indicated that attacks also struck communities including Sabon Gida and Masaka, with some estimates suggesting more than 100 people were abducted across the affected settlements. The remote Borgu region, located near Nigeria’s western border with Benin and adjacent to Kebbi and Kwara states, has experienced growing activity from both local criminal gangs and regional militant networks. Mass abductions have increasingly functioned as a lucrative, multimillion-dollar enterprise for various armed factions operating across Nigeria’s central and northwestern regions, even as federal forces maintain active security and rescue operations across the country.
Keep reading