Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
Suspected armed bandits have carried out fresh, violent raids on Jindani and Mai Kaho villages in Yauri Local Government Area (LGA) of Kebbi State, resulting in multiple deaths, numerous injuries and a number of abductions, according to residents and community sources. The attacks targeted innocent civilians, including an elderly woman who was killed, amplifying fear and displacement across communities that lie within a forest belt long plagued by insecurity.
Eyewitnesses and residents said assailants, believed to be armed bandits operating in the north-west region, struck the villages in the dead of night, opening fire on residents and moving swiftly to abduct people from homes and compounds. Casualties include several civilians who were shot and others who remain missing following the raids. Families fled into surrounding bushland to escape, leaving behind homes and livelihoods.
The affected communities are situated in a part of north-west Nigeria that has seen repeated banditry, kidnappings and killings over many years, with attackers exploiting remote terrain to launch assaults on unprotected settlements. Such attacks mirror a wider pattern of insecurity across the region, where bandit gangs frequently raid villages to steal, kill and take captives for ransom. Recent security analyses have shown that bandit attacks continue unabated across several states in the north-west, contributing to a deepening humanitarian crisis with rising fatalities, displacement and loss of property.
Local sources in Yauri LGA expressed profound shock over the fatal attacks, pointing out that victims had no links to armed groups and were non-combatant residents engaged in daily subsistence activities. They described the raids as indiscriminate and emphasised that the elderly, women and children were among those now missing or injured. Such incidents have reignited calls from traditional and community leaders for urgent intervention by security forces to secure vulnerable routes and settlements that lie exposed along forested belts between Kebbi and neighbouring states.
The latest violence has compounded a pervasive sense of insecurity in the area, undermining local efforts to rebuild disrupted agricultural and commercial activities. Community representatives also highlighted that poor communication and limited security presence allow bandits to strike and withdraw with minimal resistance, leaving civilians trapped in a cycle of fear and uncertainty.
Security sources have not yet issued an official statement confirming the specific attacks at Jindani and Mai Kaho, but similar raids in the north-west have in the past prompted multi-agency responses involving the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army and Civil Defence Corps in attempts to pursue perpetrators and recover abducted victims.
The repeated targeting of rural villages in Kebbi and across north-west Nigeria underscores ongoing challenges in containing bandit violence and protecting civilians. Human rights organisations and analysts continue to warn of a deteriorating security situation in the region, citing high casualty figures and large numbers of villagers abducted or displaced in recent years as evidence of a looming humanitarian crisis if the cycle of attacks persists.
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