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More than 100 people were abducted and at least 40 killed after armed men stormed a mosque during prayers in Nigeria’s Niger State.
Getting into it: This all started on Friday afternoon in the Borgu Local Government Area, when attackers wearing military-style clothing hit the villages of Gidan-Zana and Kpenya, then surrounded Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district right after prayers ended. Borgu council chairman Abdullahi Mohammed Nasir said, “People were abducted while praying.” Others were shot trying to run.
A rival militant faction put an end to the initial assault. Fighters from a group called Mahmuda heard what was happening, showed up, and attacked the kidnappers over doctrinal differences, according to federal lawmaker Jafaru Mohammed. Some captives got away in the confusion. Many did not.
The numbers moved as the day went on, with the attackers hitting the villages of Sabon Gida and Masaka the same day. Police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun initially said no lives had been lost and that officers could not confirm how many people were taken, then later told the BBC that more than 40 were killed across the four villages and more than 100 abducted. Rescue efforts are moving slowly because of bad roads and terrain.
The attackers came back on Saturday, with a resident saying that in the second round, more captives were taken. In addition to this, the only road leading into the village of Dekara was mined, which delayed authorities from responding.
No group has claimed responsibility. Ahmad and other survivors named Lakurawa, a group that turned up in border communities in the northwest around 2017 and sold itself to locals as protection from bandits, and which researchers link to Islamic State Sahel Province. Abuja put it on the terrorist list in late 2024.
Despite this, another resident told AFP the attackers were Ansaru instead, a Boko Haram splinter now aligned with al-Qaeda. As of now, no group has claimed responsibility.
