Gunmen raid Nigerian village, killing at least 30 and abducting several others

At least 30 people were killed and several others abducted after gunmen raided a village in Nigeria, police said.

Authorities said the attackers stormed Kasuwan-Daji in the Borgu area of Niger state, in the northern part of the country.

After opening fire on residents, the gunmen also set fire to the local market and several houses, according to Niger state police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun.

At least two residents placed the death toll at 37 and said the number could rise, as several people are still missing.

Residents also said security forces had not yet reached the area, disputing police claims that officers had been deployed to search for those abducted.

The Rev. Stephen Kabirat, spokesperson for the Catholic Church of Kontagora Diocese where the attack occurred, told local media that the gunmen killed more than 40 people and that some of those taken were children.

According to a resident who asked not to be named for safety reasons, the attackers had been lurking in nearby communities for about a week before the assault. Survivors are now too afraid to return to recover the bodies.

“The bodies are there in Kasuwan-Daji. If we don’t see any security, how can we go there?” the resident said, adding that the attack lasted up to three hours.

Such attacks are common in Africa’s most populous country, where dozens of armed gangs seeking control frequently target remote communities with little security presence or government oversight.

Saturday’s assault in Kasuwan-Daji took place near the Papiri community, where more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were abducted from a Catholic school in November.

Police said the attackers arrived from the National Park Forest along the Kabe district, highlighting a growing trend in which vast, poorly monitored forest reserves serve as hideouts for armed gangs.

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