A video circulating online appears to show hundreds of people being held captive after armed men raided communities and mosques in Niger State, deepening fears over another mass abduction in a part of Nigeria already struggling with repeated attacks.
The footage, which surfaced on social media after the Aug. 21 attacks in Borgu Local Government Area, shows a large group of captives gathered in a forested area and surrounded by armed men. Women, children and elderly people can be seen among them. Residents who viewed the video told Reuters they recognized relatives and other members of their communities. Some estimated that about 600 people could be in captivity, although authorities have not independently confirmed that figure. Reuters said it could not verify the exact location or time the video was recorded.
The attacks unfolded around the time of Friday prayers in remote communities including Dekara, Gidan Zana, Kpenya and neighboring settlements. Residents said armed men surrounded worshippers and forced many of them toward the forest. Niger State police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun confirmed that gunmen attacked the area and abducted an unspecified number of people, while security personnel were deployed for search and rescue operations.
Early estimates of the number missing were much lower. Borgu council Chairman Abdullahi Mohammed Nasir said at least 60 people had been kidnapped, while local youth leader Zubairu Umar Talba estimated about 80 people were taken. Talba said his 85-year-old father was among the missing. The later video, however, raised fears that the scale of the abductions may have been far greater than first believed.
For families in the affected communities, the uncertainty has become almost as painful as the attack itself. Residents told Reuters that they recognized relatives in the footage, including women carrying babies. They appealed to the Niger State and federal governments to act quickly to bring the captives home. The gunman heard speaking in Hausa in the video also appeared to invite families to identify relatives among those being held.
The reaction has been marked by fear and frustration, particularly among residents who say insecurity has made ordinary activities increasingly dangerous. Jafar Muhammad Shetiman Borgu, the federal lawmaker representing the area, said some worshippers managed to escape while others suffered injuries during the attacks. Residents described gunmen moving through several communities after Friday prayers, taking more people as they went.
The latest attack is not an isolated episode for Borgu. In January, police confirmed that six bodies were recovered following an attack in the Wawa area of Borgu Local Government Area. In June, suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked Pissa village, where residents reported killings, abductions and homes being burned. The repeated violence has forced some families to leave communities where farming and other rural livelihoods are central to daily life.
Niger State has also experienced one of Nigeria’s most prominent recent mass kidnappings. In November 2025, hundreds of students and staff were abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri. The captives were eventually released, and in June this year a Federal High Court sentenced five men linked to the attack to 25 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges.
Mass kidnappings have become a persistent security problem across northern and north-central Nigeria. Armed groups frequently target villages, schools, highways and places of worship, often taking victims into remote forests and demanding ransom. The violence has affected Muslim and Christian communities alike and has continued despite military operations and repeated government promises to improve security.
No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the latest Borgu attacks, and authorities have not announced whether ransom demands have been made. That leaves critical questions unanswered, including exactly how many people are missing and where they are being held.
For families watching the video and searching the crowd for familiar faces, however, the immediate concern is simpler. Their relatives went to pray or were going about their lives on Friday and did not return. Now they are waiting for news, hoping security forces can reach them before another mass kidnapping becomes a prolonged ordeal.
