No fewer than 16 local vigilante members have been killed and 42 residents abducted in a series of coordinated fresh attacks by bandits across communities in Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State.
The assaults, which occurred between Sunday, November 9 and Thursday, November 13, 2025, have forced several villagers to flee en masse, leaving once-bustling settlements deserted.
A resident, who did not reveal his identity for security reasons, said the attackers first stormed Dutsen Magaji on Sunday, abducting 22 villagers.
“When they came on Sunday, vigilantes went after them and engaged them in a gun battle. In the process, three vigilantes were killed and five people are currently in the hospital,” he said, according to Daily Trust.
According to him, the bandits returned before dawn on Thursday, November 13, launching another attack, this time on Magama village, arriving during early morning prayers.
“They surrounded the mosque while people were praying and abducted more than 20 people. Some vigilantes followed them; not knowing the bandits had laid an ambush.
“The bandits opened fire and 13 vigilantes were killed, and several others were injured,” the resident added.
The Press Secretary to the Chairman of Mashegu Local Government Area, Isah Ibrahim Bokuta, also confirmed the killings in a statement.
Bokuta described the slain vigilantes as “heroes who sacrificed their lives in defence of their communities,” adding that the local government appreciated their bravery and selfless commitment to keeping the area safe.
However, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, told newsmen that he has not verified the incidents.
But residents said the mass displacement was sequel to the series of attacks, noting that villagers have fled to Mashegu, Kawo-Mashegu, Manigi and other safer locations, while some are reportedly seeking refuge with relatives in distant communities.
Among the deserted villages are Dutsen Magaji, Borin-Aiki, Gidan Ruwa and Magama, according to community sources.
The renewed attacks come as the abductors of former Chairman of the Niger State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Alhassan Bawa Niworo, continue to hold him in captivity weeks after his family reportedly paid N70 million ransom.
Niworo was kidnapped on Monday, September 29, 2025, along the Mokwa, New Bussa road in Borgu LGA, alongside the Permanent Commissioner II of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC), Barrister Ahmad Mohammed, their drivers, and other travellers.
While others were later released, Niworo remains in captivity.
Niger State has been one of the hardest-hit regions in the North-Central by the ongoing banditry crisis, which has escalated over the past five years.
Large swathes of Mashegu, Rijau, Mariga, Munya, Shiroro, and Rafi local government areas have come under persistent attacks involving mass abductions, killings, and the imposition of levies on farming communities.
The broader insecurity, stretching across Niger, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, and parts of the Federal Capital Territory, is rooted in a complex mix of armed bandit groups, splinter herder militias, and criminal networks engaging in kidnappings-for-ransom, cattle rustling, and village raids.
Government responses, including military operations and community vigilante mobilisation, have had mixed results, with many communities depending heavily on local vigilantes for defence.
The latest killings in Mashegu underscore the continued vulnerability of rural residents and the increasing sophistication of bandit ambush tactics, raising fresh concerns over security preparedness as attacks persist across the region.
