Bandits Storm Three Communities In Northern Nigeria, Killing 46

Witnesses said gunmen riding motorcycles attacked three communities in the Borgu local government area near the borders with Kwara and Katsina states. At least 46 people were killed, including 38 in the village of Konkoso alone, while others were abducted and homes burned.

Mobile Raids Overrun Villages

A humanitarian source said additional bodies were still being recovered. Residents described the sequence beginning in Tungar Makeri before spreading to nearby settlements.

Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun confirmed part of the incident: “Suspected bandits invaded Tunga-Makeri village.” He added: “Six persons lost their lives, some houses were also set ablaze, and a yet-to-be ascertained number of persons were abducted.”

The attackers struck around 6am (05:00 GMT). One resident said military aircraft were heard overhead but ground forces were absent.

Another told The Associated Press that they were “operating freely without the presence of any security.”

Forest Sanctuary Advantage

The affected region borders the Kainji Forest, long identified as a refuge for armed groups including factions linked to Boko Haram. Authorities face a hybrid threat combining insurgent ideology and profit-driven kidnapping networks.

The pattern is recurrent. On January 21, police confirmed mass abductions in Kaduna State after initial denials, when more than 160 villagers were seized during church prayers.

Data compiled on bandit violence shows more than two attacks per day between 2023 and 2025, killing 6,107 people. Recorded abductions numbered 4,243 in 2023, 1,461 in early 2024 and 857 in early 2025.

“Silence the Guns” Pressure

Local leaders in Borgu recently appealed to Bola Tinubu to establish a military base to deter raids. The attacks illustrate how motorcycle mobility enables armed groups to bypass checkpoints and strike multiple targets within hours.

Kidnapping Economy Dynamics

Northern Nigeria’s violence blends insurgency with criminal enterprise. Armed groups raid villages for ransom, extortion and access to mining routes, exploiting forests and mountainous terrain as staging areas.

The latest killings follow a familiar pattern: rapid entry, indiscriminate shooting, arson and abduction. The cumulative toll reflects a conflict that functions less as sporadic terrorism than as sustained low intensity warfare across rural communities.

They also underscore a persistent security gap between mobile armed groups and static rural protection forces in northern Nigeria.