Armed men kidnap dozens in attacks on Nigerian villages

What the report says

Armed men attacked a mosque and nearby villages in Nigeria’s central Niger State, abducting dozens of people, according to Al Jazeera’s report citing police and survivors. The incidents took place in the Borgu Local Government Area’s Dekara district, where the raiders first struck Gidan-Zana and Kpenya before moving on Kpenya Mosque during Friday afternoon prayers. Police said they were aware of the kidnappings and had deployed a joint security team for assessment and rescue efforts.

Local residents told Reuters that more than 60 worshippers may have been taken, but that number has not been independently confirmed. Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said authorities had not received reports of deaths, while other residents speaking to AFP said some people were killed, a claim that also remained unverified. A survivor, Jibril Ahmad, said the attackers used guns, knives and machetes and linked them to the Lakurawa armed group. A federal lawmaker, Jafaru Mohammed, said several nearby villages were also hit.

The violence continued into Saturday, with residents saying armed men returned to the area and planted landmines on roads out of Dekara. One account said fleeing civilians were killed when a vehicle struck a mine, though that too could not be confirmed. More broadly, Al Jazeera noted that Niger State, near Nigeria’s border with Benin, has seen rising activity by armed groups, while mass kidnappings remain a persistent security problem in parts of northwest and central Nigeria.