At least 30 people have been killed following attacks on four mosques in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State last Friday.
Terrorists attacked the mosques simultaneously during Juma’at prayers in Dekara, Kpenya, Sabon-Gida and Gidan-Zana communities, abducting dozens of worshippers.
The attackers reportedly assembled the worshippers and marched them into the forest.
Speaking on Monday, the Chairman of Borgu LGA, Mohammed Nasir Abdullahi, confirmed that about 30 of those abducted had been killed by their captors.
He said the communities had recovered the bodies of the victims and buried them.
“The military has gone in there. The whole place is calm. We lost some people, and the burials were done. Some people ran away to safer grounds.
“From the records I have, those kidnapped were a little above 60. Those that were killed were close to 30,” the chairman said.
He added that some houses, including the residence of the District Head of Dekara, Abubakar Umar, were set ablaze during the attacks.
The chairman said the victims were abducted from the four communities while observing Juma’at prayers on Friday.
Following Friday’s attacks, dozens of residents have fled to New Bussa and the Benin Republic after terrorists threatened to kill anyone who remained in the affected communities.
“Only a few people are in Dekara now. Many people have left,” a resident disclosed.
Police said a joint security operation had been launched to track the attackers and facilitate the rescue of the abducted worshippers.
Meanwhile, a resident in the affected community in Borgu LGA urged the security agencies to mount pressure on the terrorists and use a similar method employed during the rescue of Oriire abductees to secure the release of all those in captivity.
More than 40 students and teachers have been rescued after spending 56 days in captivity, following what the authorities described as a month-long intelligence-driven operation.
Jonah Danjuma, spokesman for the 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Ibadan, said in a statement that the operation focused on identifying the masterminds behind the abduction and dismantling their network and hideouts within the Old Oyo National Park.
He said several arrests were made in Oyo State and other parts of the country, disrupting the group’s activities and putting sustained pressure on its members.
Residents narrated that seven of the 10 wards in Borgu LGA are currently affected by insecurity, with hundreds of people, mostly farmers, displaced and dozens killed.
The affected wards include Babanna, Kabe/Pissa, Konkoso, Shagunu, Dugga, Wawa and Malale.
Residents have called on the Federal and Niger State governments to intensify security operations and provide assistance to displaced persons whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the attacks.
They said that between December 2025 and June 2026, more than a dozen villages in Anindita District and Babanna Area Development Council were attacked and destroyed by terrorists, forcing residents to flee.
“Contrary to the claim that normalcy has returned, our people cannot go to farms in Anindita, Babanna and Gada-Oli axes. Schools are shut. Over 300,000 people are displaced. If normalcy exists, why are villages still empty and why is humanitarian aid yet to reach most IDPs?” one resident asked.
The communities called for military operations to clear terrorist enclaves within the Babanna Area Development Council, which they said were being used as staging grounds for attacks.
They also sought support for local vigilantes and humanitarian assistance for displaced farmers.
In November 2025, terrorists reportedly kidnapped an unspecified number of travellers along the Wawa-Lumma Road.
Residents said two passenger vehicles travelling to Gupanti and Lumma were intercepted and all their occupants abducted. Another vehicle heading to Papiri was also attacked, but the driver escaped.
On December 23, 2025, terrorists attacked a security outpost at Ibrahim Leteh village along the Wawa-Lumma Road. The outpost, operated by personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, was destroyed and patrol vehicles vandalised.
On January 4, 2026, terrorists attacked a Nigeria Police Border Patrol Team outpost at New Kalli village, less than 48 hours after dozens of traders and farmers were reportedly killed at Kasuwan Daji.
The attackers reportedly burnt the police outpost and officers’ belongings before setting farm produce ablaze.
On June 18, at least 10 farmers, including traditional rulers, were killed in an attack on Old Gangale community.
Dozens of displaced residents, including women and children, are still taking refuge in parts of the Benin Republic, while others have moved to New Bussa to stay with relatives.
A displaced farmer, Mallam Awwal Ibrahim, said several communities known for producing crops in commercial quantities had been deserted.
He listed Konkoso, Pissa, Kasuwan-Daji, Tsohon-Gangale, Sabon-Gangale, Buriya, Tunga-Aljana, Sefeluna, Kokani and Adahe among the deserted communities.
Another resident, who declined to be named, alleged that terrorists had established control in parts of Borgu Emirate and imposed levies on communities.
He claimed that residents of Dekara District paid N10 million in June as a levy to the terrorists, adding that it was the second time they had been forced to pay such a levy this year.
He listed several districts allegedly affected, including Dekara, Yegbaso, Babanna, Kabe, Pissa, Kanu, Shafaci, Mago, Konkoso, Kasabu, Papiri, Wawa, Woko, Kali, Litenswa, Agwara and Gallah.
It was also gathered that the village head of Gallah, a retired military officer, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Saturday, August 22. He was reportedly traced to his farm before being killed.
On July 5, terrorists reportedly burnt the Central Primary School in Dekara town.
Between July 9 and 11, at least nine farmers were killed while two vigilantes sustained injuries in separate attacks.
On July 9, four people were killed when a truck they were travelling in reportedly hit an improvised explosive device planted along the Dekara-Babanna Road.
On July 10, three people, including a former principal of Government Day Secondary School, Dekara, Mallam Yusuf Na Allah, were killed in attacks on Kpenya and Dekara.
Two civilians were also killed and two vigilantes injured on July 11 when suspected terrorists attacked the Pissa community in Gbeswa Ward.
Residents said the attacks had made movements along farm roads and rural routes unsafe, forcing more people to flee.
On Sunday, August 9, terrorists reportedly blocked the Mokwa-New Bussa Road, killing two travellers and abducting seven others.
Several markets in Borgu LGA, once known as major grain and livestock trading centres, have been forced to close due to renewed attacks, kidnappings and the imposition of levies on farmers and traders.
A displaced farmer, Alhaji Adamu Idris, told Daily Trust that insecurity had pushed residents into poverty, with many unable to access their farms.
“We live in fear and abject poverty. We can no longer cultivate our land because the farms have been taken over by bandits and terrorists. They have also burnt our communities,” he said.
Idris said communities in the area produce maize, rice, beans, millet, sorghum, groundnuts and soybeans in commercial quantities. They also rear cattle, sheep and goats, which are supplied to markets in Lagos and Ibadan.
He alleged that residents of Dekara District had been forced to pay N10 million in levies to bandits on two occasions.
Another resident, Mustapha Abdullahi, said affected communities also produce yam, maize, rice, sorghum, sesame and groundnuts in large quantities.
He alleged that terrorists had imposed levies totalling N75 million on communities along the Niger-Kwara border, threatening to attack if the money was not paid.
“We are in hardship. We don’t even have money to buy food. During the recent attack on Konkoso, 200 bags of groundnuts I kept in my store were burnt. I lost virtually all the farm produce I had stored,” he said.
Abdullahi said about 10 markets had closed due to repeated attacks and kidnappings.
He listed the affected markets as Gufanti, Pissa, Tungan-Makeri, Igwara, Konkoso, Tungan-Madugu, Tsohon-Gangale, Bakin Ruwa and Kokani, among others.
He said the markets were important trading centres for farm produce and livestock, and called on the Federal Government to establish military formations in the area to secure the communities and enable displaced farmers to return to their farms. – Daily Trust.
