MINNA, Nigeria — At least 30 people were killed and several others abducted after armed gunmen raided a village in northern Nigeria’s Niger State, police said Sunday, in the latest attack to hit a region plagued by recurring violence.
The attackers stormed Kasuwan-Daji village in the Borgu local government area on Saturday evening, opening fire on residents and setting the local market and multiple homes ablaze, according to Niger State police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun. Police said officers had been deployed to the area to search for those abducted.
Residents, however, offered higher casualty figures and said security forces had not yet arrived by Sunday. At least two residents estimated the death toll at 37 and warned it could rise further, as some villagers remained missing.
The Catholic Church of Kontagora Diocese reported even heavier losses. Its spokesperson, Rev. Fr. Stephen Kabirat, told local media that more than 40 people were killed and that some of those abducted were children.
A resident who requested anonymity for security reasons said the gunmen had been seen around nearby communities for about a week before the attack and that the assault lasted up to three hours. Survivors, the resident said, are too fearful to return to recover bodies without visible security presence.
“The bodies are there in Kasuwan-Daji village,” the resident said. “If we don’t see any security, how can we go there?”
Violent raids by armed gangs are common across parts of Nigeria, particularly in remote areas where security coverage and government presence are limited. The groups, often operating from forested hideouts, routinely target villages for killings, kidnappings and arson.
Saturday’s attack occurred near the Papiri community, where more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were abducted from a Catholic school in November, underscoring persistent insecurity in the area.
Police said the assailants arrived from the National Park Forest along the Kabe district, noting that abandoned forest reserves frequently serve as safe havens for armed groups.