{"id":7848,"date":"2026-01-06T19:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T19:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/7848\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T19:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T19:47:08","slug":"bandits-kill-42-kidnap-women-and-children-in-attacks-on-villages-in-nigeria-diocese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/7848\/","title":{"rendered":"Bandits kill 42, kidnap women and children in attacks on villages in Nigeria diocese"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n \"Jude
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

By Jude Atemanke<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

Jan 6, 2026 \/
\n 12:59 pm<\/p>\n

At least 42 people have been killed and an unknown number of women and children abducted following a series of coordinated attacks on villages located in Nigeria\u2019s Kontagora Catholic Diocese<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a> issued Jan. 5, the director of social communications of the diocese, Father Matthew Stephen Kabirat, provided details about the attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cA devastating attack occurred in Kasuwan Daji, a village in Agwara local government, Niger state, as bandits invaded early Sunday morning. The attack has left over 40 people killed and several others kidnapped,\u201d Kabirat said. \u201cReports indicate the bandits operated for hours with no security presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Kabirat, the attacks were part of a wave of violence that began on Dec. 28, 2025, when heavily armed bandits riding about 30 motorcycles emerged from their hideout in the Kainji Game Reserve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey crossed into Kebbi state, north of Shafaci, and proceeded to the village of Kaiwa, where they killed five people and set fire to houses and grain stores. They then moved on to Gebe, where they killed two more people,\u201d the priest said.<\/p>\n

Kabirat explained that on the evening of Jan. 1, the bandits passed through Shafaci again and burned documents at the police station before spending the night in the bush.<\/p>\n

On the morning of Jan. 2, they passed near Bako-Mission and the Tungan Kure junction near Pissa Village, where they gave some individuals a telephone number to be delivered to the district head of Pissa and the village head of Sokonbora.<\/p>\n

At about 10 a.m. that same day, the bandits entered the Catholic church compound in Sokonbora and destroyed a crucifix, pictures of the Stations of the Cross, and musical instruments, Kabirat said, adding that the attackers also stole two motorcycles, mobile phones, and cash from the Catholic church in Sakonbora.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter leaving Sokonbora, they occupied some Kambari compound nearby, where they spent the rest of that day until the afternoon of the next day [Jan. 3], eating the chickens and goats of the people,\u201d Kabirat further recounted.<\/p>\n

\u201cTowards the evening of [Jan. 3], they left the Kambari compound near Sokonbora and entered the village of Kasuwan Daji, about eight kilometers [about five miles] from Sokonbora,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kasuwan Daji is a small village with a large Wednesday market. The attackers, the priest said, \u201cset fire to the market and surrounding houses, slaughtering 42 men after tying their arms behind their backs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese victims were both Christians and Muslims; they also kidnapped an unknown number of women and children,\u201d Kabirat said.<\/p>\n

The priest explained that this particular group of criminals has been roaming freely across the northern part of Borgu local government area in Niger state and the southern part of Shanga local government area in Kebbi state between Dec. 28 and Jan. 3 without being challenged by security forces.<\/p>\n

As a result, Kabirat said, the Papiri schoolchildren who were recently released<\/a> from captivity have been further traumatized.<\/p>\n

The children, he said, \u201care forced to hide in the bush with their families whenever reports indicate that the bandits are nearby, both day and night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPanic is now widespread around the villages, where rumors abound,\u201d the priest said, adding: \u201cIn this entire area, there are many villages. However, there is not a single large town where people can run to for safety. Nevertheless, people are evacuating the area in large numbers, abandoning their homes and properties.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Story continues below)<\/p>\n

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He added: \u201cIn view of the above, it is clear that pending the elimination of the bandits and their hideouts in Kanji Game Reserve, there is an immediate need for a large and well-equipped military task force in the area capable of and empowered to pursue, engage, and eliminate the bandits whenever they come out of the game reserve again for further attacks,\u201d Kabirat said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout such a task force, there will be a massive and ongoing loss of life and permanent displacement of large numbers of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was first published<\/a> by ACI Africa, CNA\u2019s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.<\/p>\n


\n \"Jude
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jude Atemanke Jan 6, 2026 \/ 12:59 pm At least 42 people have been killed and an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[5496,4371,122,929],"class_list":{"0":"post-7848","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nigeria","8":"tag-catholic-church-in-nigeria","9":"tag-catholic-news","10":"tag-nigeria","11":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}