For the families of the victims of the January 3 terrorist attack on Kasuwan Daji Market, the trauma may never fade. What began as a regular market day in Borgu Local Government Area, Niger State, descended into a nightmare of screams and chaos. Survivors recount the horror of seeing their loved ones struck down as suspected bandits moved through the market, leaving destruction and fear in their wake. ABU NMODU reports.
Residents of Kasuwan Daji in Borgu local government area, Niger State, are still reeling after a brutal terrorist attack on Saturday, January 3, 2026, that claimed the lives of 30 people. Eyewitnesses and bereaved family members have narrated scenes of panic, bloodshed, and desperate flight, painting a grim picture of fear and devastation that has gripped the community.
One can only imagine the screams and wailing that filled the air at the Kasuwan Daji Market as suspected bandits, believed to be operating from the Kainji National Park forest near Kabe district, moved through the stalls, opening fire on innocent men and women, majorly breadwinners who had gone out to earn a living for their families.
Shops were looted, the market set ablaze, and fear now hangs over the entire community. When visited the community, it discovered that many residents have fled their homes, unsure if safety will ever return despite repeated assurances from authorities.
The attack left a trail of blood and destruction beyond the market itself. In the surrounding villages, 12 more people were slaughtered, and dozens were abducted as the assailants rampaged unchecked. Grieving families have described scenes of the unimaginable horror, as homes were ransacked and prized possessions destroyed, leaving survivors struggling to comprehend the scale of the violence.
In spite of the fact that local authorities and security operatives have been called upon to respond, the community remains on edge, with whispers of more attacks circulating among the frightened residents. The once-bustling Kasuwan Daji Market, a vital hub of trade and social life, now stands in ruins, a stark reminder of the terror that erupted in broad daylight.
The incident at Kasuwan Daji, located at the borders of Borgu and Agwara local government areas is just a few kilometres from Papiri, where children and staff of St Mary Catholic School were abducted recently brought back harrowing memories for villagers in both areas. Many recalled the emotional trauma their children endured before being released last month.
Families of the victims who pleaded anonymity told our reporter that the casualty of the attack, which now stands at 45 deaths, was both dastardly and cruel.
For them, beyond the heartbreak of losing loved ones, residents are grappling with the uncertainty surrounding family members who were abducted, as well as the destruction of property looted and set ablaze during the assault.
On the mode of operation of the terrorists, Mallam Farouk Musa from Borgu said that “they come from the Kainji National Park and game reserve forest, move through the Kabe Hills, attack the villagers, and then vanish into the forest, leaving the villagers to pick up the pieces.”
A woman popularly known as Madam Titi, who owns a shop in the market, said she lost four of her relatives in the attack on Kasuwan Daji, forcing her and other villagers to relocate. She said in an interview: “They killed four of my family members. We had to abandon the village and run away. We don’t know what to do. There is nobody left in our compound now. We are up to 100 people living in the same house where we have relocated to, in a neighbouring town in Kofanti. It is safer for us.”
Madam Titi added that her village, Babelu, close to Kasuwan Daji, saw no fewer than 42 villagers killed on that fateful day. She recalled that at the market, they were caught completely off guard, shot at randomly, and that she barely escaped the bandits’ bullets and possible abduction by quickly going into hiding. By the time she returned, 30 bodies were counted dead in the market.
“They also went into the villages, tied people’s hands, and slaughtered our people like animals. At least 12 of them were killed like that,” Titi recalled.
She called on the government to provide adequate security for the area, saying, “Only when that is done can we go back home. For now, there is danger everywhere, and there is no guarantee they will not come back.”
“How do you expect me to be alright going back to that village when I just buried four of my relatives, those I eat, sleep, and wake up with?” she asked rhetorically, adding that the lack of security presence, even after the Papiri attack, made it easier for the bandits to repeatedly overrun the villages.
Another villager, Dauda Baka-Aure, said he also lost four of his relatives during the attack on Kasuwan Daji Market, prompting him and other residents to relocate to Kofanti, a safer community.
“Now we are in this neighbouring village, where we sleep outside. We abandoned our village to become beggars, sleeping in the cold,” he told LEADERSHIP Weekend. He added that the few rooms provided by their hosts were reserved for the children, while the adults had to sleep outside in the harsh weather.
Painting a similarly gruesome picture of the attack, Dauda said the bandits opened fire at the market and went into surrounding villages, slaughtering people “like animals.”
He called on the government to take deliberate action and find a lasting solution to the repeated attacks, saying, “We are truly traumatised.”
Another market woman, Asebe, recounted her ordeal: “I was in my shop when I heard gunshots. I ran for my life, but by the time I returned after the bandits left, I saw some of the people who were just alive a moment ago lying in pools of their blood. It was unbelievable. People were going about their usual business, and the next minute you saw them like that.”
Mallam Umar Kwana said none of his relatives were directly killed during the attack, but five of his children were among the scores abducted from the market. “Some people from our area were slaughtered by the terrorists. I am very sad. Five of my children have been abducted. When the bandits came, there was confusion everywhere, and later I could not find my children. It is clear they were taken into the forest with the others abducted from the market,” he said.
The director of Communications for the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora, Reverend Father Matthew Kabirat, confirmed the severity of the situation, noting that
parishioners and priests are also relocating due to fear of further attacks.
He added, “As I am talking to you, our parishioners and priests are leaving for fear of possible attacks. The security personnel who came after the incident cannot be found, and there are no signs of help for the people. These terrorists had a field day, and our people are moving from that axis for fear of either being killed or kidnapped.”
Reverend Kabirat said the attackers did not only kill but also abducted an unknown number of women and children and set the market ablaze. “The fire was so intense that the smoke could be seen 15 kilometres away at Papiri,” he said.
A villager, who gave his name as Abuka, said communities in Papiri, Kwana, and Tugan Salama, both in Agwara and Borgu local government areas were living in constant fear. He said, “Between Sunday, December 28, 2025, and Saturday, January 3, 2026, this group of bandits roamed freely without being challenged. The Papiri school children, who were recently released from captivity, including my daughter, have been further traumatised, forced to hide whenever the terrorists are nearby, both day and night.”
He added, “People are evacuating the area in large numbers, abandoning their homes and property.”
The Niger State Police public relations officer, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the attack, stating that security forces were on the trail of the terrorists. However, he provided no updates on the rescue of the abducted victims or any arrests made.
Similarly, the Niger State government extended condolences to the families of the victims and assured the public that it was working to prevent further attacks, pledging to collaborate with the federal government to bring the perpetrators to justice. Yet, for now, villagers continue to live in fear, mourning their killed and abducted family members.
It was reports that despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive for security agencies to coordinate an immediate manhunt to rescue the abducted victims, the situation in the affected communities remains precarious and in urgent need of attention.
The escalating insecurity has also drawn the concern of the Son of the late Emir of Borgu, Murtala Haliru Dantoro, who appealed directly to President Tinubu to rescue the people of the Borgu Emirate, reminding him of his traditional title, Jagaban Borgu.
The prince said the persistent killings and insecurity in Borgu and Agwara local government areas, which comprise the Emirate, had reached an unbearable level, leaving residents in constant fear. “I am deeply troubled by the continuous loss of innocent lives in our communities. Families are being torn apart, livelihoods destroyed, and our people are gradually losing hope in the ability of leadership to protect them,” he said.
He urged both President Tinubu and Niger State Governor Mohammed Umar Bago to intervene urgently and provide lasting solutions. “Our people deserve to live without fear, to farm their lands, and to sleep peacefully in their homes. This is not just a local crisis; it is a humanitarian emergency that demands immediate and decisive action from the highest levels of government,” he added.
The accounts reflect the deep frustration and anguish of the once peaceful Borgu Emirate, a region of strategic national importance that hosts major investments, including Nigeria’s foremost hydroelectric dam.
Therefore reiterate that as the smoke clears over Kasuwan Daji and surrounding villages, the grief, fear, and displacement linger, painting a stark reminder of the human cost of insecurity in Niger State.
Families mourn the loss of loved ones, communities struggle to rebuild, and the shadow of further attacks hangs over every home and market.
The urgent call for decisive action, from local authorities to the highest levels of government, resounds louder than ever, for the safety, dignity, and future of the Borgu Emirate and its people depend on it.
Troops of Operation Fansan Yamma have neutralised several Lakurawa terrorists and destroyed their camps during a clearance operation in Waria Forest, Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The operation, conducted on Thursday, October 15, also led to the recovery of weapons and five motorcycles from the terrorists’ enclave.
The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force North West, Operation Fansan Yamma, Lt Col Aliyu Danja, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday.
Danja said troops of Sector 2 advanced through identified terrorist hideouts around Alela, Bilange and Kandam villages towards Waria Forest, where they made contact with the armed group.
According to him, the troops engaged the terrorists in a firefight and overpowered them with superior firepower, forcing them to abandon their positions and flee deeper into the forest.
“Troops subsequently pursued the fleeing terrorists, neutralising some of them in the process,” he said.
Danja added that further exploitation of the area destroyed the terrorists’ camps and their life-support structures, alongside the recovery of weapons and five motorcycles.
He said troops had sustained their operational presence in the area through continued clearance and domination operations aimed at denying the terrorists freedom of movement and preventing them from using the forest as a haven.
“The latest success underscores the commitment of Operation Fansan Yamma to dismantling terrorist enclaves, denying terrorist elements safe havens and restoring lasting peace and security across the Joint Operations Area,” Danja said.
He commended the troops for their courage, resilience and sustained efforts, while urging residents to provide timely and credible information about suspicious movements and activities in their communities.
Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has warned that Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province remain major security threats in the sub-region, urging security chiefs to intensify efforts to combat insurgency.
Declaring open a two-day meeting of federal and state security administrators in Yola on Thursday, Fintiri said the threats posed by the groups remained persistent, dynamic and ideological.
“While our gallant armed forces have significantly degraded their conventional capabilities, these insurgents continue to exploit vast rural terrains, asymmetric tactics and cross-border vulnerabilities to strike at soft targets.
“However, let me speak with political candour: we cannot afford the luxury of premature victory speeches. Furthermore, we must confront emerging threats that endanger our socio-economic fabric,” he said.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Kaletapwa Farauta, said security was not merely about weapons but also grassroots presence, social justice and inclusive governance.
“It was this conviction that drove our historic decision to create seven new emirates and chiefdoms across Adamawa State,” he said.
Fintiri added that the battleground had shifted to digital spaces, where vulnerable youths were targeted for recruitment and misinformation.
He said the security of Adamawa State was inseparable from that of Nigeria and urged the Federal Government to urgently modernise the country’s international borders.
“We need the deployment of advanced surveillance technology, drone coverage, joint border patrols and the expedited establishment of one-stop border posts to control illegal cross-border migration, arms proliferation and smuggling,” he said.
The governor also urged the Federal Government to increase funding for security agencies to enable them to intensify the fight against insecurity.
“Our frontline officers, the police, the military, the Civil Defence, the DSS and Customs, are doing heroic work under difficult conditions.
“However, their operational funding, tactical equipment and welfare packages must be significantly upgraded by the Federal Government,” he said.
To defeat the insurgency, Fintiri called for genuine inter-agency cooperation and an end to rivalry among security services.
He said the operational disconnect between intelligence-gathering units and field tactical teams must be addressed.
“Victory belongs to unity, not institutional ego,” he said.
Fintiri added that hosting the meeting of the nation’s top security policy strategists reflected Adamawa’s progress in restoring peace and stability.
“For us in Adamawa State, hosting this august gathering of the nation’s top security policy strategists is not just an administrative assignment; it is a testament to our transformation.
“A few years ago, convening a gathering of this magnitude in the North-East was met with hesitation. Today, through visionary leadership, community resilience and divine grace, Adamawa stands tall as a beacon of relative peace, stability and democratic consolidation,” he said.
He challenged the security administrators to move beyond what he described as diagnostic speeches and develop an actionable, pragmatic roadmap to address security challenges in the sub-region.
He also advocated the adoption of unified digital freight and transit-tracking platforms across states and national transport corridors to eliminate illegal checkpoints, trace suspicious cargo and secure trade routes.
The governor donated 300 motorcycles and 16 security vehicles to support policing across the state’s 15 chiefdoms and 21 local government areas.
A car dealer, Chima Edmund, has accused the Lagos State Police Command of releasing a man suspected of attempting to steal a 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup worth about N130m from his showroom in the Victoria Garden City area of Lekki, Lagos State.
Edmund, founder of Mayor and Sheiks Autos, said the suspect allegedly drove the vehicle away from his showroom on Monday after posing as a prospective buyer but crashed it into a canal in the Ajiran area while attempting to escape.
The Toyota Tundra before the incident. Credit: Chima Edmund
The incident went viral on Tuesday, with the dealer estimating the cost of repairing the damaged vehicle at about N40m.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, Edmund said the suspect arrived at the dealership around 4pm carrying a bag and asked to inspect the pickup.
He said a junior staff member attended to the man, who requested the key to the unsold vehicle under the pretext of checking its engine.
The car dealer, Chima Edmund
“On Monday, the guy came to my outlet around 4pm. He met my junior staff and came in with a bag as a customer. He asked for the 2025 Toyota Tundra pickup, which costs around N130m, and demanded the key to check it. He dropped his bag inside it, and the staff watched him start the engine, thinking he only wanted to check it. But the man engaged the gear and drove off,” Edmund said.
According to him, the vehicle exited the dealership through a route that required a supporting slab because of the difference in elevation between the car stand and the main road.
He said the vehicle’s doors locked automatically when the suspect engaged the gear, after which he drove towards the VGC Bridge.
Edmund said his staff member pursued the vehicle but struggled to convince passers-by that the man behind the wheel was not the owner.
He alleged that the suspect drove through a residential estate in Ajah, damaged a barricade at the entrance and continued towards Chevron and Ebeano before heading to Ajiran.
“On getting to Ajiran, he could not find his way again. He realised he had driven to the end of the road, and when he could not proceed, he drove over the canal until the vehicle landed in it. That was when some boys dragged him out,” the dealer said.
Edmund said the escape attempt damaged the pickup and a barricade at the VGC entrance.
He added that he paid for repairs to the barricade and incurred expenses on the treatment of people injured during the incident, as well as the suspect’s feeding and other related costs.
The dealer said he also paid for the suspect’s medical treatment following the crash, adding that the man was not kept in a cell because of the injuries he sustained.
According to Edmund, the case was initially reported at the Ajah Police Division before being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, where two women who identified themselves as the suspect’s mother and sister visited him.
He said the women claimed to be from Agbor, Delta State, adding that he became concerned about recovering his expenses after learning that the suspect had been released on bail.
Edmund alleged that he was pressured to withdraw the case after investigators established that the suspect had a psychiatric condition.
“I am already suspecting foul play in the police dealings because I was hurried to close the case when the man was confirmed to be a psychiatric patient. Just yesterday evening, he had been released on bail.
“For somebody who caused me such heavy damage, how am I going to bear these losses alone, knowing that the culprit has been released? Somebody attempted to steal a car from my outlet. It is sad,” he said.
The dealer appealed for assistance in recovering from the financial losses, saying preliminary estimates put the cost of repairing the damaged Toyota Tundra at about N40m.
Edmund, who said he had been in the automobile business since 1996, described the incident as unprecedented in his nearly three decades in the trade.
He said he had operated in different parts of Lagos, including Berger and FESTAC, before relocating to VGC, adding that he had never experienced a similar incident despite attending to numerous customers over the years.
He said it was difficult to identify suspicious customers by their appearance, noting that some casually dressed clients had purchased vehicles worth more than N200m from his dealership.
Edmund also dismissed suggestions that the vehicle had been left unattended with the suspect, insisting that a proper test drive should involve at least two people accompanying a prospective buyer.
On why the pickup did not have a tracking device, he said it was a new vehicle that had not yet been sold.
According to him, installing a tracker before a vehicle is purchased could require interference with its wiring system and raise concerns among prospective buyers about whether it was a Nigerian-used vehicle.
He added that the pickup had a fuel tank capacity of about 130 litres, but its fuel gauge was already on red, indicating that approximately 30 litres remained when the suspect allegedly drove it away.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Abimbola Adebisi, denied the allegation that the police had improperly released the suspect.
Adebisi said the suspect had been certified as a psychiatric patient by recognised government hospitals and competent courts, adding that the dealer withdrew the case after the information emerged during the investigation.
“The suspect is a psychiatric case, certified by recognised government hospitals and competent courts.
“All these were well known by the complainant in the course of our investigation. This prompted him to submit a withdrawal letter, whereupon the suspect was handed over to his mother for rehabilitation,” she said in a WhatsApp message to our correspondent.
However, PUNCH Metro could not independently verify the police spokesperson’s claims, as she did not provide the documents requested by the correspondent to substantiate the alleged medical certification and withdrawal of the complaint.
