Africa-Press. Agence France-Presse, citing a source in a humanitarian organization, reported on Saturday that at least 46 people were killed in an attack by gunmen on three villages in Niger State in west-central Nigeria.
The source told AFP that “38 people were shot or slaughtered” in the village of Kunkuso, while “seven others were killed in Tungan Makiri,” in addition to “one person killed in Bissa.”
The source added that about 80% of homes in Kunkuso were set on fire during the attack, and that aid teams are working to recover additional bodies from the rubble.
A security report said the attackers arrived on dozens of motorcycles in a coordinated assault targeting the three villages, which fall under the Borgu local government area bordering Kwara State.
Niger State police confirmed an attack on Tungan Makiri. A police spokesperson said gunmen believed to be “bandits” stormed the village in the early hours of the morning, killing six people, burning several houses, and abducting an unspecified number of residents.
The three villages are under Borgu local government, near the Kwara border, where more than 160 people were killed by militants earlier this month.
The area is also close to Kainji Forest, which in recent years has become a haven for bandits and armed groups.
Nigeria has faced an insurgency in the northeast for more than 16 years, alongside farmer-herder clashes in the north-central region, separatist violence in the southeast, and a growing threat from “criminal gangs” in the northwest that has gradually spread into areas once considered safer.
Armed groups are also active in the northwest and west-central regions, driven by worsening insecurity in neighboring countries such as Niger and Burkina Faso.
In November, more than 250 students were abducted from a Catholic boarding school in the town of Baberi in Niger State, before later being released.
Internationally, the United States has criticized what it sees as shortcomings by Nigerian authorities in containing violence, while Abuja has rejected President Donald Trump’s accusations of persecuting Christians and claims of “genocide,” saying attacks hit Muslims and Christians alike.
In this context, the U.S. military said it carried out airstrikes in coordination with Nigeria in late December, targeting Islamic State-linked elements in the country’s north—an indication of expanding military cooperation between the two countries.
