Armed men have violently stormed a village in Nigeria's Niger state, killing at least 30 people and looting shops, state authorities have reported.
The attackers emerged from a forest near the village of Kasuwan-Daji on Saturday, setting fire to the local market, looting shops, and kidnapping an unspecified number of people, police indicated.
The gunmen entered the town on motorcycles carrying weapons, rounded up people and then proceeded to slaughter them, while others were shot dead, a local journalist recounted to BBC's Hausa service.
Attacks and kidnappings by armed criminal gangs, often referred to as bandits, have plagued Nigeria for years, with a marked increase in instances reported in the western and central regions recently.
Abdullahi Rofia, an official with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed that villagers were rounded up and killed. He noted: They are hiding, they are too afraid to talk to anybody. They are scared that if you talk, they will turn and do the same to you.
Niger state police spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, mentioned that an emergency team has been dispatched to assist the injured and that security forces are actively working to rescue those who were kidnapped.
The government has classified the criminal groups responsible for such acts as terrorists, making it illegal to pay ransom money, yet reports suggest this rule is often ignored.
The attack occurred shortly after authorities announced the phased reopening of schools in Niger state following a mass kidnapping that forced closures as part of emergency security measures. In a notable incident last November, over 250 students and staff were abducted from St Mary's Catholic School in Papiri, marking one of the most severe kidnappings in Nigeria's recent history.
As panic spreads, a witness from the attack expressed dismay: We want the government to help us. In the past, we used to hear about this problem in other places, but now it is happening in our villages. We are dying like chickens. Does the government care about us?
