January 4, 2026 | Gusau / Minna, Nigeria — Dalena Reporters
In a deadly wave of terror that has once again underscored the fragility of security in northern Nigeria, armed bandits carried out coordinated attacks across Zamfara and Niger States between Friday and Saturday, killing scores of civilians, burning vehicles and markets, and abducting travellers and residents, security sources and eyewitnesses reported.
According to local security analysts and community reports, the violence began along the Danjibga–Kuncin Kalgo road in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, where heavily armed gunmen set two vehicles ablaze and kidnapped all passengers, forcing other motorists to flee for safety.
Eyewitnesses described a separate assault on Hayin Kastinawa community in Birnin Magaji LGA (Zamfara State) late Saturday night, where attackers reportedly raped married women and abducted at least 15 teenage girls, prompting urgent appeals for security intervention from terrified residents still sheltering in nearby villages.
In neighbouring Niger State, suspected bandits launched a violent raid on the Kasuwan Daji community in Borgu Local Government Area, where they massacred more than 30 villagers, abducted an unconfirmed number of women, children and travellers, and burned down the local market and several structures, witnesses and official sources confirmed.
The Niger State Police Command has officially verified the attacks, stating that at least 42 people were killed and several others abducted in a series of raids that terrorised rural villagers late Saturday. The assailants, believed to operate from the dense forest corridors bordering Kainji Lake National Park, stormed Demo village’s Kasuwan Daji market at around 4:30 p.m., killing residents, burning stalls, looting food and goods, and fleeing with captives into the bush.
Security operatives responded late in the evening after distress calls were received, with joint patrol teams deploying to affected communities—but locals criticised the delayed response as insufficient to prevent the carnage.
This brutal surge of violence has turned key transport routes and unprotected villages into lethal danger zones, compounding fears among commuters and farmers who rely on these roads and settlements for their livelihoods.
Local and national human rights advocates condemned the attacks as part of a broader pattern of chronic insecurity plaguing Nigeria’s northwest and north-central regions, where criminal networks exploit limited state presence to carry out kidnappings, massacres and raids with near impunity.
Reacting to the bloodshed, community leaders and residents pressed authorities for an urgent comprehensive security strategy that addresses the root causes of such aggression, including more sustained army and police patrols, intelligence-driven operations, and protective measures for vulnerable settlements and transport corridors.
As of this report, government agencies had not yet released a coordinated official casualty figure or detailed plan for the rescue of the abducted victims, leaving families and communities in anguish and mounting pressure on federal and state authorities to act decisively.