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In the borderlands of northwest Nigeria, where the writ of the state has long since frayed, another atrocity unfolded with grim predictability. Armed men on motorbikes descended upon three villages in the Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, close to the frontier with Benin Republic. They killed at least thirty-two people, set houses and shops ablaze, and abducted an unknown number more. These raids form part of a relentless surge in violence across northern Nigeria, where so-called "bandits" have inflicted mass murder, ransom kidnappings, and the wholesale displacement of communities.
Were these terrorists jihadis? You make the call, because I don't know.
The Nigerian government finds itself under ever-increasing pressure to restore some semblance of order, yet the pattern persists: swift, savage incursions followed by retreat into the bush, leaving the survivors to count their dead and dread the next assault.
Wasiu Abiodun, the Niger State police spokesperson, confirmed the initial strike on Tunga-Makeri. "Suspected bandits invaded Tunga-Makeri village … six persons lost their lives, some houses were also set ablaze, and a yet-to-be ascertained number of persons were abducted," Abiodun said. He noted that the assailants then proceeded to Konkoso village, though further details remained sketchy.
Jeremiah Timothy, a resident of Konkoso who fled to a neighboring locality, described how the attack on his village commenced in the early hours with sporadic gunfire. "At least 26 people were killed so far in the village after they set the police station ablaze," said Timothy, adding that the attackers entered Konkoso around 6 a.m. (0500 GMT), shooting indiscriminately. Residents reported hearing military jets overhead, a distant reminder of state power that arrived too late to prevent the slaughter.
An anonymous witness spoke of more than two hundred motorbikes sweeping through the area, their riders targeting the villages with ruthless efficiency.
Auwal Ibrahim, from Tunga-Makeri, gave a harrowing account of the early-morning assault on his community at approximately 0200 GMT. "The bandits stormed our town around 3:00 a.m. (local time), riding so many motorcycles while shooting sporadically, beheading six people and killing others. They set shops on fire and forced the whole village to flee," Ibrahim said.
He added that many villagers now fear to return, knowing the gunmen linger nearby.
The Nigerian government finds itself under ever-increasing pressure to restore some semblance of order, yet the pattern persists: swift, savage incursions followed by retreat into the bush, leaving the survivors to count their dead and dread the next assault.
Wasiu Abiodun, the Niger State police spokesperson, confirmed the initial strike on Tunga-Makeri. "Suspected bandits invaded Tunga-Makeri village … six persons lost their lives, some houses were also set ablaze, and a yet-to-be ascertained number of persons were abducted," Abiodun said. He noted that the assailants then proceeded to Konkoso village, though further details remained sketchy.
Jeremiah Timothy, a resident of Konkoso who fled to a neighboring locality, described how the attack on his village commenced in the early hours with sporadic gunfire. "At least 26 people were killed so far in the village after they set the police station ablaze," said Timothy, adding that the attackers entered Konkoso around 6 a.m. (0500 GMT), shooting indiscriminately. Residents reported hearing military jets overhead, a distant reminder of state power that arrived too late to prevent the slaughter.
An anonymous witness spoke of more than two hundred motorbikes sweeping through the area, their riders targeting the villages with ruthless efficiency.
Auwal Ibrahim, from Tunga-Makeri, gave a harrowing account of the early-morning assault on his community at approximately 0200 GMT. "The bandits stormed our town around 3:00 a.m. (local time), riding so many motorcycles while shooting sporadically, beheading six people and killing others. They set shops on fire and forced the whole village to flee," Ibrahim said.
He added that many villagers now fear to return, knowing the gunmen linger nearby.
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What confronts Nigeria here is not mere criminality, but a profound failure of governance in vast swathes of the north: territories where armed groups operate with near-impunity, where the security forces arrive after the fact, and where ordinary people are left to pay the price in blood and terror. The "bandits" may wear no uniform of ideology, yet their methods and their dominance reveal a state that has ceded control of its own hinterland. Until that changes, these villages will remain vulnerable, and the cycle of massacre will continue.
What confronts Nigeria here is not mere criminality, but a profound failure of governance in vast swathes of the north: territories where armed groups operate with near-impunity, where the security forces arrive after the fact, and where ordinary people are left to pay the price in blood and terror. The "bandits" may wear no uniform of ideology, yet their methods and their dominance reveal a state that has ceded control of its own hinterland. Until that changes, these villages will remain vulnerable, and the cycle of massacre will continue.
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