Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The attack began at 8:58 p.m. on Saturday, September 19, 2026, and did not stop for three hours. By the time the gunmen melted back into the darkness around midnight, three people lay dead in Kagara community, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, and 28 others had been dragged into the bush. Among the dead was Abdullahi Lawwali, a mentally ill man who, according to residents, had previously received treatment at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Kware, Sokoto State. He was killed, a resident said, because he refused to follow the attackers when they tried to abduct him. His defiance cost him his life.
The other two victims were identified as Ummaru Gobir and Lawwali Idi na Abu. Two more residents, Lawwali Musa and two others, sustained gunshot injuries and were receiving treatment at Goronyo General Hospital. The attackers moved from house to house, breaking into homes and seizing residents. One resident, who narrowly escaped by hiding, returned home at midnight to discover that six members of his household had been taken away: his wife, Hassana; his daughter-in-law, Marliyya; his son, Atiku; his daughters, Jamila and Amina; and his neighbour's daughter, Yajja. His wife and two daughters were later released. His wife told him the abductors had taken them as far as Danjiro village.
Another resident said the attackers abducted 28 people but later released 10 in the morning and two in the afternoon, leaving 16 still in captivity. Seven people were taken from the house of Abdullahi Dan Abu, and another seven from the house of Mallam Lawwali. Three of those abducted from one household returned home on Sunday morning. Maryam Tukur, the resident's elder brother's wife, was also among those taken. The community is now a place of grief and fear, its residents waiting for news of their loved ones and wondering who will be next.
The Sokoto State Police Command confirmed the attack but offered a different account of the numbers. The spokesperson, DSP Ahmad Rufai, said three people were killed and nine others abducted. He said all nine abducted persons had escaped from captivity, while one dead body was recovered at the scene. The discrepancy between the police account and the residents' account is significant and troubling. Residents insist that 28 people were taken and that 16 remain in captivity. The police say nine were taken and all escaped. The truth matters, not just for the record but for the families who are still waiting. If the police are right, then 16 families are waiting for loved ones who are already free. If the residents are right, then the police account is dangerously incomplete.
The attack on Kagara is not an isolated incident. It is the latest chapter in a relentless campaign of violence that has turned Sokoto State into a killing field. On August 17, 2026, bandits killed at least 22 people, including the Chief Imam of Ungushi Izala Jumu'at Mosque, in Kebbe Local Government Area. On August 14, two residents were killed and 11 abducted in attacks on Taloka and Huda communities in Goronyo LGA. On August 27, four people were killed and seven wounded when bandits attacked Gorau village in Goronyo, specifically targeting families who had just received N1 million each in compensation following a boat tragedy that claimed 65 lives. The attackers went house to house, searching for the relief money. In June 2026, bandits killed four people, including the Chief Imam, Liman Audu, and abducted others in Kuda-Kuda village, also in Goronyo LGA. In September 2026, at least 15 residents were killed and about 79 others abducted across six local government areas in a single wave of attacks.
The pattern is unmistakable. Bandits are not just targeting random villages. They are targeting communities that have already suffered, families that have already been traumatised, and areas where security presence is weak or absent. They are targeting the vulnerable, the displaced, and the forgotten. And they are doing it with impunity. The people of Kagara, like countless other communities across Sokoto State, have been left to fend for themselves. They have buried their dead, paid ransoms for their loved ones, and watched their communities empty out as fear drives families away. The question on everyone's lips is the same: how long will rural communities in Sokoto continue to live under the shadow of terror?
The answer, for now, is unclear. The military has recorded operational successes in recent weeks. Troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA have rescued dozens of kidnapped victims, arrested suspected Lakurawa members, and recovered weapons and rustled livestock. But the attacks continue. The military's successes are real, but they have not yet translated into a lasting reduction in violence. The bandits adapt, regroup, and strike again. The root causes of the violence, including poverty, unemployment, weak governance, and the proliferation of small arms, remain unaddressed. The government's response remains reactive, focused on responding to attacks after the blood has already been spilled rather than preventing them from happening in the first place.
For the families of the three people killed in Kagara, the pain is irreparable. For the families of the 16 residents who remain in captivity, the wait is agonising. For the people of Kagara, Goronyo LGA, and the wider Sokoto State, the fear is constant. They deserve to live without the threat of violence hanging over their heads. They deserve to farm, to trade, to worship, and to raise their families in peace. Until the government takes decisive and sustained action to protect them, the attacks will continue, and the blood of innocent people will continue to soak the soil of Sokoto State.
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