Assailants kill at least 30 in northwest Nigeria villages, residents say | Nigeria
Motorcycle gunmen killed at least 30 people and burned homes and shops in raids on three villages in northwestern Nigeria’s Niger State early on Saturday, residents fleeing the violence told Reuters.
The attacks on villages in Borgu local government area, close to the border with Benin Republic, are part of a surge in attacks in northern Nigeria blamed on “bandits” carrying out deadly attacks, kidnapping for ransom and displacing communities.
Insecurity is a pressing concern in Nigeria and the government is under increasing pressure to restore stability.
Niger State police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun confirmed the attack, which took place in one of the villages.
“Suspected bandits invaded Tunga-Makeri village, 6 people lost their lives, some houses were set on fire and an undetermined number of people were kidnapped,” Abiodun said.
He added that the attackers advanced towards Konkoso village, but details of other attacks remained unclear.
Konkoso resident Jeremiah Timothy, who fled to a nearby area, said the attack on his village began in the early hours with sporadic gunfire.
“At least 26 people have been killed in the village so far after setting fire to the police station,” Timothy said, adding that the attackers entered Konkoso around 6 a.m. (05:00 GMT) and fired indiscriminately.
He said residents heard military jets flying overhead.
Another eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the attackers wreaked havoc on the region with more than 200 motorcycles, targeting villages.
Auwal Ibrahim, a resident of Tunga-Makeri, described the attack on his village in the early hours of the morning, around 2am GMT.
“The bandits raided our town around 3 a.m. local time, riding in large numbers on motorcycles and opening fire sporadically, beheading six people and killing others. They set fire to shops and forced the entire village to flee,” Ibrahim said.
He added that many villagers were afraid to return because gunmen remained nearby.
