Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
On the evening of Sunday, 31 May 2026, as heavy rain pounded the tin roofs of Namama community in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State, worshippers gathered at the local mosque for the Maghrib prayer, the sunset prayer that marks the breaking of the daily fast. It was a scene repeated across millions of Muslim homes on any ordinary evening. But at approximately 6:30 p.m., just as the faithful prostrated in supplication, the tranquillity was shattered by the roar of motorcycle engines and the crack of automatic gunfire.
According to multiple accounts, a group of armed bandits, believed to number about 15, stormed the mosque and opened fire indiscriminately on the congregation. The attack occurred under the cover of heavy rainfall, which muffled the sound of the approaching motorcycles and made it difficult for worshippers to discern the danger until it was already upon them. A community source who spoke to Daily Trust said, “The rain was heavy. People were focused on their prayers. We didn’t hear them coming until the shooting started.”
The assailants, armed with AK‑47 rifles and other sophisticated weapons, surrounded the mosque before entering and firing at the worshippers. In the ensuing chaos, a young boy identified as Adamu was shot and killed. At least five other worshippers sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to a nearby health facility for treatment. The attackers fled the scene on their motorcycles shortly after the assault, disappearing into the forests that surround the Giwa axis, an area notorious for bandit hideouts.
The death of young Adamu has plunged the tight‑knit community of Namama into mourning. A neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the boy as a quiet, friendly child who often helped his mother fetch water. “He was just a child. He had no quarrel with anyone. What kind of people kill a child in a mosque?” the neighbour told Daily Trust.
The Kaduna State Police Command confirmed the attack in a statement issued on Monday, 1 June 2026, by the command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Hassan Mansur. “On 31 May 2026 at about 1830hrs, suspected bandits attacked a mosque in Namama village, Giwa LGA, killing one worshipper, Adamu, and injuring five others. The command has deployed tactical teams to the area to track down the perpetrators,” the statement read. Mansur added that an investigation has been launched and that the command is working with other security agencies to intensify patrols in the area.
The attack on the Namama mosque is the latest in a long series of violent incidents targeting worshippers in Giwa LGA, a local government area that has become one of the epicentres of banditry in Kaduna State. Located along the Kaduna–Birnin Gwari highway, Giwa shares a border with the notorious Birnin Gwari forest, a vast woodland that serves as a sanctuary for criminal gangs who launch attacks on communities, abduct travellers and rustle cattle. In March 2022, bandits stormed another mosque in Giwa LGA during evening prayers, abducting several worshippers and women from nearby homes. In 2025 and early 2026 alone, Giwa recorded multiple deadly attacks, including the displacement of 39 communities and the killing of over a dozen residents in a single raid.
Despite repeated military operations, including the establishment of a forward operating base in Giwa, the bandits have continued to operate with impunity, exploiting the difficult terrain and the absence of adequate security infrastructure in rural areas. Residents of Namama have repeatedly appealed to both the state and federal governments for the deployment of more security personnel and the establishment of a permanent military outpost in the area. The attack on the mosque occurred less than 48 hours after the Kaduna State Government announced the reopening of the Kaduna–Birnin Gwari road, following a temporary closure aimed at curbing bandit activity along the route. It also came just weeks after the military claimed that there were “no bandit camps” within the operating area of its forward base in Giwa.
The Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has yet to issue a personal statement on the Namama attack. However, his media aide, Ibrahim Dahiru, told journalists that the governor had been briefed and that security agencies were under instructions to ensure the perpetrators are “hunted down and made to face justice.”
For the family of young Adamu and the injured worshippers, justice seems a distant abstraction. As the community buried their dead on Monday morning, the question on every lip was not whether the bandits would be caught, but when the next attack would come. “Every week, we bury someone. Every month, we attend a funeral for a child or a mother killed by these people,” said another resident who asked not to be named. “We have become experts in grief.”
The Kaduna State Police Command has urged residents to remain calm and to provide any information that could assist in the investigation. The command’s emergency numbers have been widely circulated. But for the people of Namama and countless other villages across Giwa LGA, the assurance of a police statement rings hollow when the sound of gunfire is more common than that of a siren. Until the security forces can guarantee that a mosque is a sanctuary, and not a death trap, the faithful will continue to look over their shoulders as they bow their heads in prayer.
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