30 Killed, Many Abducted, as Army Vows Hunt for So-called Bandits
By Onibiyo Segun and Douglas Burton
(Kasuwan Daji, Borgu, Niger State)-Boko Haram killers likely murdered 30 villagers by bullets or throat cutting on Jan. 3rd at Kasuwan Daji market in Borgu county of Niger State, TruthNigeria has learned. Boko Haram (“Western Learning Forbidden”) is an ISIS-linked insurgency that arose in the Lake Chad region of Northeastern Nigeria in 2009. It has pockets of terrorists in several states of Nigeria’s Western and Northcentral regions.
The Hon. Emannuel Umar, former Niger State Commissioner for Internal Security and Humanitarian Affairs told TruthNigeria he can say with “high confidence” that the atrocity was a signature killing by a Boko Haram branch based in Kainji Lake National Forest. “The tactics and technicalities of the killing are uniquely that of Boko Haram,” Umar said.
The 60 killers that arrived in a cloud of dust on Saturday, Jan 3 killed both Christian and Muslim residents.
The motivation for the attack? “Both Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) have been mining rich gold deposits in the area around the northern neck of Lake Kainji, for three years,” Umar said. “And their aim is to forcibly move all the civilian population out of the vicinity of their mining,” he added. “It’s usually Boko Haram that ties up innocent men and women and slaughters them,” Umar said.
Residents said women and children were not spared as attackers burned stalls, looted food, and turned the market into a killing field, according to Reuters.
The assault fits a familiar pattern across northwest and north-central Nigeria, where gunmen on motorcycles emerge from forest hideouts, fire into crowds, seize captives, and vanish before security forces arrive.
Kasuwan Daji is situated near thick forest reserves along the Kabe district, terrain residents and analysts say offers cover and escape routes for armed groups operating across Niger, Kebbi, and Zamfara states in the Northwest Nigeria.
“They shot everyone they saw,” said Dauda Shakulle, a trader wounded while fleeing through nearby farmland.
“There were bodies everywhere, women, children. No one was spared.” Dauda Shakulle told TruthNigeria.
Police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said the attack occurred around 4:30 p.m. on January 3 and described the attackers as “bandits” believed to be operating from forest corridors near the Kabe axis. He said security forces had launched operations to rescue abducted victims.
Federal Government Response
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through his media spokesman Bayo Onanuga, condemned the killings and ordered the military, police, and Department of State Services to track down the attackers and rescue abducted villagers. He warned that anyone aiding the perpetrators would face justice. (See related story by Masara Kim on his site.)
“These terrorists have tested the resolve of our country,” the president said. By close of the news day Jan. 5, no terrorist group affiliated with Islamic State or Al Qaeda had been referenced by the Federal Government.
Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago described the attack as “heartbreaking,” saying victims included both Christians and Muslims, and vowed to work with federal authorities to secure vulnerable communities and rescue abductees.
Eyewitness Accounts
“They came on motorcycles, shooting with AK-47s,” said Mariatu Ibrahim, who lost relatives in the attack.
“People ran into the fields. Children were crying. There was no security presence when it started.” She added.
Defense Analysts: What This Means
Security analyst Dr. Chidi Okoye, director of the Centre for Conflict Analysis, said markets remain “soft targets.”
“These attacks are designed to terrorize civilians, steal supplies, and fund operations through kidnapping,” he said.
Another analyst, Aisha Muhammed of Sahel Security Watch, warned that displaced fighters are spreading southward.
“Gunmen pushed from one zone don’t disappear; they relocate. This is expected – markets, schools, worship centers and the likes become easy targets for these terrorists,” she said.
Kasuwan Daji follows earlier attacks in Niger State:
• November 2025: Gunmen abducted hundreds of schoolchildren from a Catholic school in Borgu.
• 2022: Bandits ambushed security forces in Shiroro, killing dozens.
The attack comes days after U.S. airstrikes on extremist targets in northwest Nigeria, operations officials say may have displaced armed groups into neighboring states.
Aftermath
As families searched through burned stalls and fresh graves, residents said warnings about armed movement near forest paths had gone unheeded, a familiar refrain in rural Nigeria.
For Kasuwan Daji, the market is silent. The dead are buried. And the missing remain somewhere in the bush.
Douglas Burton is managing editor of TruthNigeria. Onibiyo Segun reports on terrorism for TruthNigeria.
