Six days after suspected terrorists abducted worshippers during Friday prayers in Niger State, the state government says it has received no communication from the perpetrators and is yet to establish the exact number of people taken.
The attacks occurred on August 21 at three different locations in Borgu Local Government Area, with the state government suspecting the involvement of Lakurawa and Boko Haram elements.
Niger State Commissioner for Information, Obed Nuhu, disclosed the development on Thursday while speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
According to Nuhu, no contact has been established with the abductors since the attacks.
“No such (contact with the kidnappers) has happened. We have not had any interactions with them but the suspicion is the Lakurawas as they call themselves and the Boko Haram. It happened in three different locations around that kingdom,” he said.
The commissioner also cautioned against relying on unverified figures concerning the number of victims.
He said the government was still gathering information from the affected communities and would not provide a definitive figure until the details had been properly verified.
The development has heightened concerns among families whose relatives were taken during the attacks, particularly as authorities remain without direct communication from the perpetrators nearly one week after the incident.
Worshippers Abducted During Prayers
The initial attack occurred at the Kpenya Mosque in Gidan-Zana, also known as Gbeji, in Kpenya village, where suspected terrorists reportedly stormed the mosque at about 2pm during Juma’at prayers.
The attackers reportedly abducted worshippers, including women, children and elderly people.
Among those reportedly taken were the village head of Ka’ada, who had recently been released from the attackers’ custody, and the 90-year-old father of the District Head of Dekara.
The Niger State Police Command initially confirmed that an unspecified number of people had been abducted, adding that some residents escaped into a nearby forest.
The police also said no death had been recorded in the mosque attack at the time and that a joint security detachment had been deployed to assess the situation and commence rescue efforts.
Subsequent reports, however, indicated that the violence extended beyond the mosque and affected several communities in the Dekara area.
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and the Northern Senators Forum said the affected communities included Gbeji, Kpenya, Giyan Gbasu and Dekara.
Residents in the affected areas were reportedly killed, injured or abducted during the attacks.
The Islamic council expressed particular concern over the incident in Dekara, where terrorists reportedly invaded a central mosque during Juma’at prayers and abducted more than 60 worshippers.
Conflicting Casualty Figures
The scale of the attacks has remained difficult to establish, with figures from different sources yet to be reconciled by the Niger State Government.
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The Presidency subsequently disclosed that more than 40 people were killed across the affected communities, while more than 100 others were abducted and taken into nearby forests.
However, the state government has maintained that the exact number of abductees is still being verified.
The discrepancy has made it difficult to establish the full extent of the attacks, while authorities have urged the public to avoid spreading figures that have not been officially confirmed.
Tinubu Orders Coordinated Rescue
Following the attacks, President Bola Tinubu directed a coordinated rescue operation involving the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and other security agencies.
The operation is aimed at locating the victims, securing their safe release and tracking down the perpetrators.
The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, has also deployed the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 7, Victor Olaiya, to coordinate the police component of the rescue operation.
Security agencies are working jointly to locate the victims and secure their release, with details of the operation being kept confidential because of its sensitivity.
Niger State Governor Umaru Bago had earlier directed security agencies to intensify efforts to recover the abducted worshippers and restore normalcy to the affected communities.
The state government said a joint security operation had been mobilised to assess the situation, track the attackers and facilitate the rescue of those being held in captivity.
Senators, Islamic Council Demand Action
The Northern Senators Forum has demanded the immediate and safe release of the abducted worshippers while calling for increased security deployment across Niger State and the wider North-Central region.
The forum also called for a review of the security architecture in the region, describing the abduction of worshippers from a mosque during prayers as particularly disturbing.
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs similarly called for urgent intervention following the attacks.
For families of those abducted, however, uncertainty continues to deepen.
Nearly a week after their relatives were taken, the government says no communication has been received from the abductors, while the precise number of people still in captivity remains unclear.
Meanwhile, security agencies continue to search the affected communities and surrounding forests for the victims and those responsible for the attacks.