Armed men have violently stormed a village in Nigeria's Niger state, killing at least 30 people and looting shops, state authorities have said.
The attackers emerged from a forest near the village of Kasuwan-Daji on Saturday and set fire to the local market, looted shops, and kidnapped an unspecified number of people, police said.
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 told the BBC's Hausa service.
Attacks and kidnappings by armed criminal gangs, known as bandits, have plagued Nigeria for years, but reports in western and central regions have surged recently.
Abdullahi Rofia, an official with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed that villagers were rounded up and killed. He shared that the local community is terrified: 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, indicated that emergency teams have been dispatched to help the injured, and security forces are working to rescue those kidnapped.
It is illegal to pay ransom money to these groups, which the government classifies as terrorists, but many reports suggest this rule is often disregarded.
A witness to the attack lamented the lack of security presence in the village, stating, 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. The fear is driving people from their homes, where they grew up.
The attack, occurring just a day after authorities in Niger state announced the phased reopening of schools after a mass kidnapping forced their closure, highlights the ongoing security crisis. In November, over 250 students and staff were abducted from St Mary's Catholic school in the region, marking one of Nigeria's worst kidnappings before all were rescued shortly before Christmas.
