At least 30 people have been killed after armed men violently stormed Kasuwan Daji, a rural community in Nigeria’s Niger State, in one of the latest and most brutal attacks linked to criminal gangs operating across the country’s north central region. The assailants, believed to be bandits, emerged from a nearby forest on Saturday, riding motorcycles and carrying heavy weapons, according to local authorities and eyewitness accounts.
Police said the attackers set the village market ablaze, looted shops, and abducted an unspecified number of residents. Survivors described scenes of chaos and terror as villagers were rounded up and killed at close range, while others were shot as they tried to flee. A local journalist who spoke to the BBC’s Hausa service said the gunmen deliberately targeted civilians, leaving families devastated and the community shattered.
Abdullahi Rofia of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency confirmed that residents were herded together before being killed, adding that fear now grips the entire area. Many villagers, he said, are too terrified to speak openly or return to their homes, worried that any form of exposure could invite further violence. People are reportedly hiding in surrounding bushes and neighbouring communities, uncertain of when it will be safe to return.
The Niger State Police Command said emergency responders have been deployed to assist the injured, while security forces have launched operations to rescue those abducted. However, residents expressed frustration over what they described as the absence of security personnel at the time of the attack, a recurring complaint in many rural communities affected by bandit violence.
Banditry has plagued parts of Nigeria for years, particularly in the north west and north central regions, where armed groups engage in mass kidnappings, cattle rustling, village raids, and killings. While the government has officially designated many of these groups as terrorists and outlawed the payment of ransom, reports suggest that desperate families often feel compelled to negotiate privately to secure the release of loved ones.
The attack on Kasuwan Daji comes amid a worrying spike in violence across Niger State, forcing residents to flee ancestral homes and livelihoods. One witness told BBC Hausa that communities now live in constant fear, lamenting that a crisis once associated with distant towns has arrived at their doorstep. He questioned whether the government truly understands the scale of suffering being endured by ordinary people.
For many residents, the psychological toll is as severe as the physical destruction. Markets that once served as centres of daily life now lie in ashes, families are mourning lost relatives, and trust in state protection continues to erode. As insecurity spreads and displacement grows, calls are intensifying for stronger security presence, intelligence driven operations, and long term strategies to address the root causes of banditry.
Without decisive action, communities like Kasuwan Daji risk becoming symbols of a deepening national crisis, where rural populations feel abandoned and exposed, and where fear increasingly defines everyday life.
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