Tinubu Orders Hunt for Gunmen After Mass Abductions in Niger State, Captives Paraded in Online Video

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has directed security agencies to track down the armed group behind coordinated attacks on four villages in a remote area of Niger state, an assault that left dozens dead and may have seen hundreds of residents dragged into captivity.

The raiders struck last Friday in the Borgu area near the country's western border, targeting the communities of Dekara, Gidan Zana, Sabon Gida and Masaka. Witnesses said several mosques were hit at the same time while worshippers were at prayer, and that the gunmen wore clothing resembling military uniforms. Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said more than 40 people were confirmed dead, though the final toll remains uncertain.

The president's directive followed the emergence of a video circulated by the assailants on social media, purporting to show some of their captives seated in a forest. A local youth leader, who declined to give his name, told the BBC he could pick out numerous neighbours in the footage, including an elderly man from Gidan Zana whom he described as a grandfather figure to the community. He said families who recognised loved ones drew some comfort from knowing they were alive.

Unofficial estimates of the number seized vary widely. The same youth leader suggested as many as 500 people might have been taken, a figure that has not been independently verified. So far, no demand for ransom has surfaced, and authorities had initially attributed the violence to so-called bandits—criminal networks that kidnap and loot for profit across swathes of Nigeria.

The aftermath has displaced many residents, with a local blogger familiar with the region saying families have escaped to nearby states or crossed into Benin. Some of the wounded are being treated in hospital, including victims with severe injuries. A local official added that the attackers scattered improvised explosive devices around the communities as they herded captives toward the forest, and that a teenage boy died when one device went off as he attempted to flee.

Through his spokesman Bayo Onanuga, the president condemned both the killings and the mass abduction, insisting the perpetrators would face justice. "Those who carried out this cowardly attack on defenceless Nigerians are enemies of peace and enemies of humanity, who will not go scot-free," the statement read. Tinubu also offered condolences to bereaved families.

Friday's violence underscores a deteriorating security picture in Borgu, which shares boundaries with Kebbi and Kwara states as well as Benin. Earlier in August, police announced the rescue of 145 people kidnapped from four different villages in the same region.

Officials have additionally voiced alarm over the expanding footprint of jihadist factions in parts of north-western Nigeria and along the border belt, reporting that some fighters have moved into communities and begun enforcing religious rules on residents.