Armed men kidnap dozens in attacks on Nigerian villages

Police say three villages and a mosque were attacked, and worshippers kidnapped in central Niger State.Armed men have kidnapped dozens of people during an attack on a mosque and surrounding villages in Nigeria’s central Niger State, survivors and police officials say.The raiders stormed Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district of Borgu Local Government Area at around 2pm (13:00 GMT) on Friday, after first attacking the villages of Gidan-Zana and Kpenya, police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Nigeria’s election campaign begins with Tinubu facing a reform testlist 2 of 3Death toll from Nigeria boat accident rises to at least 52list 3 of 3Nigeria and the Sahel: A growing security divideend of listAbiodun told the Reuters news agency that police were aware of the kidnappings but had not received reports of anyone being killed, and that a “joint security detachment has been deployed to the area for assessment and rescue operations”.He said police could not yet confirm the number of people who were taken.Local residents told Reuters that more than 60 worshippers were kidnapped, but the figure could not be independently verified.Separately, residents told the AFP news agency that people were also killed, another claim that could not immediately be confirmed.Jibril Ahmad, a survivor of the assault on Dekara, blamed members of the Lakurawa armed group.“Soon after finishing the normal Friday prayer, the armed group of Lakurawa, in their hundreds, wielding guns, knives and machetes, began to attack us,” Ahmad told AFP, claiming that people were “slaughtered”.During the attack, a third group, Mahmuda, intervened and clashed with the kidnappers, allowing some abductees to escape, he said.Federal lawmaker Jafaru Mohammed told AFP that several nearby villages were also struck.“Some members of the Mahmuda group were against the doctrine of the Lakurawa, and when they heard of what the Lakurawa were doing, they fought them,” Mohammed said.