By Ayomide Otitoju
Bandits have attacked Damala village in the Woko district of Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, killing at least four people, barely a week after a separate assault left dozens dead in nearby communities.
The latest attack occurred in the early hours of Saturday, January 10, and was confirmed by the Niger State Police Command on Sunday. According to the command’s spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, the assailants stormed the village, rustled an unspecified number of cattle and killed four residents.
Abiodun, a superintendent of police, said security agencies responded promptly and have since visited the affected community. He added that a clearance operation is ongoing, with intensified surveillance to prevent further attacks and ensure the safety of residents. The police also assured the public that efforts are underway to apprehend the perpetrators and restore normalcy.
The incident comes just one week after gunmen killed at least 42 people in several communities, including the Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village, spanning Borgu and neighbouring Agwara local government areas. The latest attack reportedly took place less than 20 kilometres from Papiri village, where more than 250 students and staff of a Catholic school were abducted in November and later released in two batches under undisclosed circumstances.
Local church authorities, however, disputed official figures from the earlier raid, placing the death toll from Saturday’s attack at more than 40. In a post on its Facebook page, the Catholic Church in Kontagora claimed the attackers operated for hours without any visible security presence.
Banditry remains a major security challenge in Nigeria’s North-Central and North-West regions, where armed groups frequently carry out mass kidnappings for ransom and raid rural communities. Niger State has been among the hardest hit, alongside Kaduna, Benue, Plateau, Kebbi and Zamfara states.
Reacting to the recent violence, Minister of Information Mohammed Idris said the victims of the Kasuwan Daji market attack cut across religious lines. “Those killed and abducted were traders, farmers, parents and schoolchildren from both Muslim and Christian backgrounds,” he said.
Nigeria continues to grapple with multiple security threats, including jihadist insurgency, banditry, farmer-herder clashes and separatist violence in the southeast. The violence has claimed thousands of lives across religious and ethnic divides.
In December, President Bola Tinubu pledged a major overhaul of the country’s security architecture and increased defence spending in the 2026 budget. He also replaced the defence minister, appointing a former senior military commander as part of efforts to curb the worsening insecurity.
