Suspected bandits have launched another deadly attack in Niger State, killing one person, abducting five others, and setting fire on a church and a police station in Agwara Local Government Area of the State.
The attack occurred in the early hours of Sunday when the gunmen stormed Agwara town. The United Missionary Church of Africa (UMCA) in the area was set ablaze, while the Agwara Police Station was also torched during the raid.
Residents said the attackers struck at about 6 a.m., first burning the church before moving to Sokonba village, which borders Kabe—an area recently hit by similar attacks. The bandits reportedly looted food items and other valuables before killing an elderly woman in Kabe town and kidnapping five residents.
Speaking on the incident, Murtala Dantoro, son of the late Emir of Borgu, lamented that repeated attacks had turned once-peaceful communities into zones of fear and displacement.
“Innocent lives are being lost, farmers are abandoning their farmlands, economic activities have collapsed, and families are fleeing their homes,” he said. “The absence of a permanent and well-equipped military presence in Agwara has left the people completely exposed.”
Dantoro called on both the state and federal governments to urgently intervene, warning that continued neglect could force residents out of their ancestral homes.
The Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Niger State, Most Rev. Bulus Yohanna, also appealed for the establishment of a permanent military base in Agwara.
“This is no longer optional; it is necessary,” the bishop said. “A stationed military presence will deter criminals, restore confidence, allow farmers to return to their farms, and enable displaced persons to come back home.”
He further warned that criminal groups were gradually turning the Borgu Emirate into a dangerous enclave by killing residents, forcing people to flee, and coercing others into collaboration.
Meanwhile, confirming the attack, the spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, said police operatives engaged the attackers but were later overpowered.
“On February 1, 2026, at about 3:40 a.m., armed bandits attacked the Agwara Police Station. The tactical team engaged them, but the attackers later used suspected dynamite to set the station on fire,” he said.
Abiodun added that the attackers later moved to the church, burned part of the building, and abducted five people whose identities are yet to be confirmed.
Niger State has witnessed a surge in bandit attacks in recent months. In November 2025, over 300 students and 12 teachers were abducted from a school in Papiri. On January 3, 2026, at least 42 people were killed in Kasuwan Daji village in Agwara LGA during another violent attack.
Residents continue to call for urgent and decisive security action to halt the growing wave of violence across the area.
