At least one person has been killed and five others abducted after armed attackers struck communities in Niger State, setting fire to a church building and a police station in Agwarra local government area in the latest outbreak of violence in the region.
The assailants reportedly stormed Agwarra in the early hours of Sunday, burning down the United Missionary Church of Africa and torching the local police station before moving on to neighbouring villages. Residents said the church was set ablaze at about 6am, after which the attackers advanced towards Sokonba village, close to Kabe, a community that was attacked recently.
According to local accounts, the attackers looted food items and other valuables, killed an elderly woman in Kabe town and abducted five people before withdrawing.
Murtala Dantoro, son of the late emir of the area, said repeated attacks had transformed once-peaceful communities into zones of fear, forcing residents to abandon their homes and livelihoods.
“Innocent lives are being lost, farmers are abandoning their farmlands, economic activities have collapsed, and families are forced to flee their homes in search of safety,” he said. “These attacks are not isolated; they are persistent and escalating.”
Dantoro blamed the violence on the absence of a permanent and well-equipped military formation in Agwarra, warning that the security vacuum had emboldened armed groups to operate with little resistance. He urged both state and federal authorities to intervene urgently, cautioning that continued neglect posed risks not only to Agwarra but to neighbouring communities.
Church leaders echoed those concerns. The Catholic bishop of Kontagora diocese and chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger State, Bulus Yohanna, called on the federal government and the Nigerian army to establish a permanent military base in the area.
“This is not a luxury; it is a necessity,” Yohanna said. “A visible, stationed military presence will deter criminal activities, restore confidence among residents, enable displaced persons to return home and allow farmers to safely return to their farms.”
He warned that armed groups were now moving freely across Borgu and surrounding areas, undermining the rule of law and driving a steady humanitarian crisis. “Enough is enough,” Yohanna said. “The people of Agwarra deserve peace, protection and the right to live without fear. Without security, no meaningful development can be achieved.”
The Niger state police command confirmed the attack. Its spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, said officers engaged the attackers, who overpowered the tactical team on the ground and used what was believed to be dynamite to set the police station on fire.
“On February 1, 2026, at about 3.40am, bandits invaded Agwarra community and attacked the police station,” Abiodun said. “The attackers later moved to the UMC church, burnt part of it, proceeded to other areas and abducted about five persons. Monitoring continues.”
The latest assault comes just over two months after the abduction of 315 pupils from St Mary’s School in Papiri, also in Niger State, underscoring growing concern about the persistence of armed attacks and mass kidnappings across the region.
