Dozens Abducted During Friday Prayers In Niger

Many worshippers  who attended the Friday (Jumma’ah) prayers at the central mosque in Dekara community in Borgu local government area of Niger State were abducted by bandits yesterday.

A resident, Mohammed Haruna, told  LEADERSHIP Weekend on telephone that the worshippers were abducted shortly after they concluded the prayers with the recitation of “Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.”

He said  the armed men  surrounded the mosque and took the worshippers away, filing them on a straight line into a nearby bush towards  the Kainji Lake forest suspected to be the camp of bandits.

Another resident who said he worshipped in another mosque near the area, Hassan Ibrahim,  said, ‘Those  affected include residents from Gidan Zana, Masaka, Sabo Gida and other neighbouring villages who perform their Friday Prayers at the central mosque.”

Ibrahim said the village head of Ka’ada who was recently released from captivity and the chief imam of the central mosque were  among those abducted.

Chairman of Borgu local government, Abdullahi Nasir, could not be reached while the commissioner for homeland security, Barrister Maurice Justin, did not respond to the calls from our correspondent at the time of filing this report.

Police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun however confirmed, “On 21/8/2026 at about 4pm, report received indicated that on same date at about 2pm, suspected terrorists invaded Gidan-Zana, Kpenya village via Dekara District Borgu, and Kpenya mosque and abducted unspecified number of persons during prayers while others escaped into the nearby forest.

“However, the developing report indicated that no life was lost, while a joint security detachment has been deployed to the area for assessment and rescue operations. Further developments will be made public.”