Gunmen kill over 30 in village raid, abduct others in northern Nigeria

Witnesses say the attackers drove motorcycles and opened fire indiscriminately on the Kasuwan ⁠Daji market in Demo village.Published On 4 Jan 2026Gunmen have raided a village in northern Nigeria’s Niger state, killing at least 30 villagers and abducting others, in what marks the latest deadly attack in the conflict-hit region.“Over 30 victims lost their lives during the attack; some persons were also kidnapped,” Wasiu Abiodun, Niger police spokesman, said in a statement on Sunday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US bombs target ISIL in Nigeria: What’s really going on?list 2 of 3US air strikes won’t fix Nigeria’s security crisis but could make it worselist 3 of 3Senegal beat Benin to claim AFCON group, as DR Congo set up Algeria tieend of listAbiodun added that the gunmen stormed Kasuwan ⁠Daji market in Demo village at around 4:30pm [15:30 GMT] on Saturday, ​burning stalls and looting food items.Such attacks are all too common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where dozens of rogue gangs – locally known as “bandits” – often target remote communities with limited security and government presence.The attackers arrived from the National Park Forest along Kabe district, according to the police, pointing to a usual trend where expansive forest reserves act as hideouts for armed gangs.Witnesses said ‍they drove motorcycles and opened fire indiscriminately. “Women and children were not spared,” Dauda Shakulle, who was wounded while fleeing, told Reuters. “There has been ​no presence of security forces since the attacks ‌began. We are currently recovering corpses.”Niger state’s Borgu local government area was also the site of another attack in November, when more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were kidnapped from a Catholic school. Those ‌victims were released after nearly a ⁠month in captivity.Niger state has been one of the hardest hit by violence in recent months. Security forces ‌have struggled to contain the violence despite ongoing operations.