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More than 60 worshippers were reportedly abducted after armed men attacked a mosque and several nearby villages in Nigeria’s central Niger State, according to local residents. Police have confirmed the abductions but have not yet verified the exact number of people taken.
The attack took place around 2pm on Friday in Kpenia district of Borgu Local Government Area, where gunmen stormed Kpenia Mosque after earlier attacking the nearby villages of Gidan-Jana and Kpenia.
Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said authorities were aware of the abductions but had received no confirmed reports of deaths. A joint security team has been deployed to assess the situation and search for those abducted.
Local residents, however, said several people were killed in the attacks. Jibril Ahmad, who survived the assault, blamed an armed group known as Lakurawa, saying hundreds of gunmen armed with firearms, knives and machetes attacked worshippers after Friday prayers.
Ahmad said another armed group, Mahamuda, intervened during the attack and clashed with the assailants, allowing some abducted worshippers to escape.
Federal lawmaker Zafaru Mohammed said several other villages in the area were also attacked. He said members of the Mahamuda group confronted the attackers because of their opposition to Lakurawa’s ideology.
The reported abduction of the worshippers comes amid continuing insecurity and armed violence in parts of northern and central Nigeria.
Source: Al Jazeera