No fewer than 30 persons have been confirmed dead following an attack on a village market in Kabe District, Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, by armed men suspected to be bandits operating from the Kainji Lake National Park.
The attack occurred on Saturday at Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village, which the assailants reportedly accessed through the Kabe axis.
Eyewitness accounts indicated that the attackers set the market ablaze, looted food items and other goods, opened fire on villagers and abducted several persons, many of whom were taken towards the forest areas surrounding the Kainji Lake National Park.
Confirming the incident in a statement issued on Sunday, the Public Relations Officer of the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, said a joint security team had visited the scene, while efforts were ongoing to rescue those abducted.
According to Abiodun, a Superintendent of Police, “On 03/01/2026 at about 9 p.m., information received revealed that at about 4:30 p.m. of the same date, suspected bandits from the National Park forest along Kabe District invaded Kasuwan Daji, located at Demo village via Kabe, burnt the market, looted shops and carted away food items.”
He added that a follow-up report received on Sunday morning confirmed the casualty figure.
“On 04/01/2026 at about 8 a.m., a report indicated that a joint security team visited the scene, and over 30 victims lost their lives during the attack. Some persons were also kidnapped. Efforts are ongoing to rescue the kidnapped victims. Further developments will be communicated,” the police spokesperson said.
Authorities have yet to provide details on the exact number of persons abducted, as security operations continue in the area.
Background
The latest attack comes weeks after a similar incident in Niger State. On November 21, 2025, bandits kidnapped over 300 pupils and students from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of the state.
According to reports, the gunmen arrived at the school around 2:00 a.m. on motorcycles and reportedly spent about three hours in the dormitories, abducting a total of 315 persons, comprising 303 students and 12 teachers.
Following the incident, security operatives and local vigilantes were deployed to comb surrounding forests in search of the abductees.
In the immediate aftermath, about 50 pupils reportedly escaped within the first day and were reunited with their families.
Subsequently, the Federal Government facilitated the release of 100 of the abducted schoolchildren.
On December 21, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced that all remaining abducted pupils of St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, Niger State—numbering 230—had been freed.
