Armed men have violently stormed a village in Nigeria's Niger state, killing at least 30 people and looting shops, state authorities have said. The attackers emerged from a forest near the village of Kasuwan-Daji on Saturday and set fire to the local market, looted shops, and kidnapped an unspecified number of people, police said.
The gunmen entered the town on motorcycles carrying weapons, rounded up people and then proceeded to slaughter them, while others were shot dead, a local journalist told the BBC's Hausa service. Attacks and kidnappings by armed criminal gangs, known as bandits, have been a problem in Nigeria for years, but reports in western and central regions have spiked recently.
Abdullahi Rofia, an official with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the journalist's report that villagers were rounded up and killed. He told the BBC that people in the community were terrified: They are hiding, they are too afraid to talk to anybody.
Niger state police spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, stated that an emergency team has been deployed to help the injured and security forces are working to rescue those kidnapped. While it is illegal to pay ransom money to criminal groups, claims suggest this is often ignored.
A witness to the attack expressed frustration with the absence of security forces in the village, saying, We want the government to help us. In the past, we used to hear about this problem in other places, but now it is happening in our villages.
The attack happened just a day after authorities in Niger state announced the phased reopening of schools after a mass kidnapping forced them to close as part of emergency security measures. In November, more than 250 students and staff from St Mary's Catholic school in Papiri were abducted, marking one of the worst kidnappings in the nation's history.
The gunmen entered the town on motorcycles carrying weapons, rounded up people and then proceeded to slaughter them, while others were shot dead, a local journalist told the BBC's Hausa service. Attacks and kidnappings by armed criminal gangs, known as bandits, have been a problem in Nigeria for years, but reports in western and central regions have spiked recently.
Abdullahi Rofia, an official with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the journalist's report that villagers were rounded up and killed. He told the BBC that people in the community were terrified: They are hiding, they are too afraid to talk to anybody.
Niger state police spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, stated that an emergency team has been deployed to help the injured and security forces are working to rescue those kidnapped. While it is illegal to pay ransom money to criminal groups, claims suggest this is often ignored.
A witness to the attack expressed frustration with the absence of security forces in the village, saying, We want the government to help us. In the past, we used to hear about this problem in other places, but now it is happening in our villages.
The attack happened just a day after authorities in Niger state announced the phased reopening of schools after a mass kidnapping forced them to close as part of emergency security measures. In November, more than 250 students and staff from St Mary's Catholic school in Papiri were abducted, marking one of the worst kidnappings in the nation's history.
