12 Persons Feared K!lled As Bandits Att∆ck Communities In Niger State, B¥rn Homes, Rustl£ Cattle

 

12 Persons Feared Killed As Bandits Attack Communities In Niger State, Burn Homes, Rustle Cattle

According to the reports, the bandits first invaded Tungan Aljana, where three people were killed during the assault.

At least 12 people have reportedly been killed following coordinated attacks by armed bandits on several communities in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, sparking a large-scale manhunt by local vigilantes.

The attacks, which occurred on Tuesday, targeted rural settlements including Tungan Aljana, Tungan Makeri and Daidanai, where residents said heavily armed assailants killed villagers, set parts of communities ablaze and carted away large numbers of livestock.

Security analyst and conflict tracker Bakatsine, known on X as @DanKatsina50, disclosed details of the attacks in a post on Wednesday, citing reports from affected residents.

According to the reports, the bandits first invaded Tungan Aljana, where three people were killed during the assault.

The attackers were also said to have burned sections of the village before rustling a significant number of cattle belonging to local residents.

After the attack on Tungan Aljana, the gunmen reportedly moved to nearby Tungan Makeri, where nine more people were killed.

Residents said the attackers again made away with livestock after unleashing violence on the community.

The assailants subsequently advanced to Daidanai community, where additional casualties and cattle losses were reported, although the exact number of victims had yet to be independently confirmed at the time of filing this report.

The attacks have left communities devastated, with families mourning relatives killed during the raids while others count losses from the destruction of property and theft of livestock, which constitute the primary source of livelihood for many residents.

In response, hundreds of local vigilantes drawn from communities across Borgu Local Government Area have reportedly mobilised to pursue the attackers.

According to residents, the vigilantes have been joined by volunteers from neighbouring Benin Republic, reflecting the cross-border nature of security challenges facing communities located near Nigeria’s international boundaries.

The search operation is said to be focused on forests and remote areas believed to serve as hideouts for armed groups operating along the Nigeria-Benin border corridor.

Reacting to the carnage on Wednesday, Bakatsine, lambasted the state and federal governments for leaving border communities at the mercy of non-state actors.
“As rural communities continue to bury their dead and organize their own response to insecurity, how many more villages must come under attack before authorities can guarantee the safety of those living in these remote areas?” Bakatsine queried.

 

BREAKING: At least 12 people were reportedly killed in a series of deadly attacks by bandits across communities in Borgu LGA of Niger State yesterday. Residents say the attackers first struck Tungan Aljana, killing three people, burning parts of the village and rustling large… pic.twitter.com/pWck3VK3d9

— Bakatsine (@DanKatsina50) June 10, 2026

Insiders familiar with the geopolitical security dynamics of Niger State told SaharaReporters that the latest bloodbath in Borgu is the direct consequence of the military’s failure to flush out criminal syndicates from the Kainji Lake National Park.

Over the last few years, the vast forest reserve, which stretches across Niger and Kwara states and borders the Benin Republic, has been completely overrun by Ansaru terrorists and heavily armed bandit factions. The dense canopy and lack of federal presence have allowed these criminals to establish permanent operational bases, from which they launch routine raids on nearby villages, kidnap travelers for ransom, and control illicit mining sites.

Borgu LGA’s proximity to the Benin Republic has turned it into a strategic transit route for transnational criminal networks. The porous, poorly policed international border allows bandits to commit atrocities in Nigeria and quickly slip into Beninese territory to evade Nigerian security forces, or vice-versa.

The involvement of volunteers from Benin Republic in Wednesday’s manhunt highlights a growing, dangerous reality: border communities on both sides of the frontier are abandoning official diplomatic channels to form joint, unregulated binational militias to combat the shared threat of terrorism.

Despite repeated assurances by the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, to clear out the forests, rural communities in Borgu, Shiroro, and Rafi LGAs remain completely vulnerable, with local vigilantes serving as the only line of defense against annihilation.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Niger State Police Command nor the Defence Headquarters has issued an official statement regarding the casualties in Borgu or the ongoing cross-border vigilante operations.