President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered an immediate and reinforced security operation to hunt down the perpetrators of a brutal weekend market attack in Niger State, which left at least 50 people dead.
Gunmen stormed the Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village on Saturday, unleashing violence during peak trading hours. The assailants opened fire on shoppers and traders, looted food supplies, and abducted an unspecified number of hostages before fleeing.President Tinubu, expressing profound shock over the “terrorism act,” condemned the attack in the strongest terms.
In a statement issued Sunday, he mandated security agencies to apprehend the gunmen and secure the safe release of all hostages.”These terrorists have tested the resolve of our country and its people. They must face the full consequences of their criminal actions,” the President declared. He further directed that security operations be reinforced “around vulnerable communities”to prevent further assaults.
A report said that Saturdays massacre is believed to be part of a coordinated wave of raids that began on Friday, targeting several communities including Agwarra and Borgu. The attack site is near the Papiri community, where over 300 schoolchildren and teachers were abducted from a Catholic school just two months prior in November.
The incident underscores the escalating crisis of banditry and mass kidnappings across northwestern and central Nigeria, where security forces continue to grapple with containing the spiraling violence that disrupts daily life and devastates rural economies.
