Armed men have abducted scores of worshippers from a mosque in Niger State after attacking several villages in the area, according to residents and police.
At around 2 p.m. on Friday, the attackers stormed Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district of Borgu Local Government Area after first attacking the nearby villages, police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said.
Residents estimated that between 60 and 80 people were taken from the mosque, although authorities have not confirmed the number.
“The developing report indicated that no life was lost, while joint security detachment has been deployed to the area for assessment and rescue operations,” Abiodun said.
Borgu Local Government Chairman Abdullahi Mohammed Nasir reported that dozens of people suffered gunshot wounds while trying to escape.
“People were abducted while praying,” Nasir said, adding, “That was when the bad people came and surrounded the mosque and took them away.”
Among those captured was the 85-year-old father of Zubairu Umar Talba, a youth leader in Dekara, according to the local community representative.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, while authorities have not publicly identified the gunmen or established their motive.
The incident adds to a long-running security crisis in parts of northwestern and north-central Nigeria, where armed gangs known locally as “bandits” have carried out kidnappings for ransom and attacked villages, schools and major roads.
The gangs have also fought each other for control of territory and criminal networks, leaving rural communities vulnerable to repeated attacks and abductions.
Nigerian security forces said in August that they had rescued more than 300 hostages from Kainji Lake National Park, including 163 people abducted months earlier from Woro in Kwara State.
In November 2025, gunmen raided a Catholic boarding school in western Nigeria and abducted more than 200 schoolchildren, who were later released in December.
