Armed men suspected to be marauding bandits operating from the Kainji Lake National Park have attacked a village market in Kabe District, Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, setting it ablaze, killing 30 villagers, and abducting scores. The Punch has learnt.
The incident occurred on Saturday at Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village, which the bandits reportedly accessed via Kabe.
The assailants reportedly not only burned the market but also looted food items and other wares, shot at villagers, and abducted many along paths leading to the expansive Kainji Lake National Park forest.
Confirming the attack in a statement on Sunday, the Niger State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, said a joint security team had visited the scene and that efforts were ongoing to rescue the kidnapped victims.
“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,” Abiodun, a Superintendent of Police, said.
“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 latest attack follows another on November 21, 2025, in which bandits kidnapped over 300 pupils and students from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.
Arriving around 2:00 a.m. on motorcycles, the gunmen stormed the school dormitories over a three-hour period, abducting 315 people—303 students and 12 teachers.
Security forces and community hunters were deployed to comb nearby forests for the abductees.
In the immediate aftermath, 50 pupils escaped within the first day and were reunited with their families.
Subsequently, the Federal Government secured the release of 100 schoolchildren.
Later, on December 21, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said that all the abducted pupils of St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, Niger State, “numbering 230, have been freed.”
Punch
