Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A pregnant woman who was among hundreds of Muslim worshippers and residents abducted by terrorists in Niger State has lost her newborn baby after reportedly giving birth in captivity without adequate food or nutrients. The woman was abducted from the Dekara District in Borgu Local Government Area of the state during the August 21, 2026, attack on communities and Muslim worshippers observing Juma'at prayers, according to a report by SaharaReporters. A video obtained by the news outlet showed the woman sitting visibly distressed among other displaced women and children in a bush, her body weak, her eyes hollow, her baby gone.
In the video, a narrator alleged that the woman had recently given birth after spending time in captivity and that her newborn died because she lacked adequate food and nutrients. "Our governor told us to say that the number of people who were displaced was not up to 500," the narrator said. "But look at this woman whom God rescued from their hands. She has just given birth in this bush, and there is no food. The baby is also not alive. She gave birth only 15 days ago." The narrator further alleged that hundreds of women and children were among those displaced and taken into the bush after the attacks, directly contradicting the account of Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, who has disputed reports that more than 500 people were abducted in the area. "There are 500 people. There are 500 people, excluding the men. Excluding the men. There are women and children, not counting the men," the narrator said. The narrator claimed that the governor had said only 35 people were displaced from Shiyin Dekara and surrounding communities. "But Governor, you said there were only 35 people. You don't know what is happening here. You came and told us that there were only 35 people," the narrator said.
The footage adds to growing concerns over the fate of women and children caught up in the mass abductions in the area. A document previously obtained exclusively by SaharaReporters contained the names of 547 people allegedly abducted during the August 21 attacks. According to the document, the victims were taken from five communities in the Dekara District—Dekara, Kpenya, Giagbasso, Gbenji and Gbebara—and moved into the Kainji Lake National Park forest. The document listed 88 alleged victims from Dekara, nine from Kpenya, 104 from Giagbasso, 341 from Gbenji and five from Gbebara, bringing the total to 547. The document said the whereabouts and condition of those listed remained unknown as of September 24.
The disclosure contradicted the figure given by Governor Bago, who reportedly said 33 people were kidnapped from a mosque and another 30 from a market, bringing the total to 63. Bago had reportedly described reports that more than 500 people were abducted as "social media hype" and said residents should not be misled. The chairman of Borgu Local Government Area, Mohammed Nasir Abdullahi, also put the number at "a little above 60." The affected communities subsequently released the names of 547 people they said were taken into the forest. The list, signed by Zubairu Umar, the Youth President of Dekara District, included women, children, religious leaders, village heads and other residents. Reports said the document was presented as a community record, and its contents have not been independently verified as an official government register.
The August 21 attack was one of the largest mass abductions in Nigeria in recent years. Suspected terrorists, reportedly from the Lakurawa and Boko Haram factions, stormed the Kpenya Mosque and surrounding communities in Dekara District, attacking worshippers during Friday prayers. They also raided Gidan-Zana, Sabon Gida and Masaka, abducting residents and killing others. Among those taken were the village head of Ka'ada, who had recently been released from the attackers' custody, and the 90-year-old father of the District Head of Dekara. The attackers reportedly targeted elders in the affected communities after accusing them of calling on the government to establish military bases in the area. Most of those abducted were said to be aged 50 years and above, suggesting a deliberate strategy to decapitate community leadership.
President Bola Tinubu ordered a coordinated rescue operation involving the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services and other security agencies shortly after the attack. The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, deployed the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 7, Victor Olaiya, to Niger State to coordinate the rescue effort. On September 3, security forces arrested a suspected Lakurawa fighter identified as Dego in the western axis of Borgu Local Government Area. Dego is linked to attacks and mass abductions around Dekara, and his arrest could provide crucial intelligence on the group's movements, networks and the possible location of the hostages. The Niger State Commissioner for Information, Obed Nuhu Nana, said security agencies had been mobilised, but admitted that the government was yet to get any response from them. "Security agencies have been mobilised, but we are yet to get any response from them. The government is definitely making efforts to rescue the people," he said.
As of September 24, more than a month after the abduction, the 547 victims remained in captivity. The document listing their names has become a symbol of the government's failure to protect its citizens and its apparent reluctance to acknowledge the true scale of the tragedy. The discrepancy between the governor's claim and the documented 547 names is not merely a matter of numbers. It is a question of accountability, transparency, and the value the state places on the lives of its citizens. For the woman in the video, the tragedy is compounded by the loss of her newborn child. She gave birth in a forest, without medical care, without adequate food, without the most basic conditions for survival. Her baby did not survive. She did. And she is now a witness to a catastrophe that the government would rather downplay. The video is a reminder that behind every statistic, every press release, every dispute over numbers, there are human beings whose lives have been shattered. Her baby is dead. The 547 are still missing. And the government's response remains measured in statements and rescue operations that have yet to yield results.
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