A video circulating since Sunday appears to show hundreds of people — many of them women, children, and older men — sitting in a forested clearing, ringed by armed men. The footage, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp, is being linked to a Friday raid on mosques in Nigeria’s north-central Niger state.
Gunmen struck during Jumu’at prayers on August 21 in Dekara (also reported as Dekera) and nearby communities in Borgu Local Government Area, including Kpenya, Sabon-Gida, and Gidan-Zana. Residents described simultaneous attacks on several villages and mosques. The Niger State Police Command confirmed the raid and said it happened around 2 p.m. Police have not verified a headcount. Local residents and some international reports have put the number taken as high as 500 to 600; officers say they still cannot confirm how many people were abducted.
In the video, children can be heard crying. A gunman speaking Hausa told families to look for relatives. “These are all your people,” he said, according to footage quoted by Al Jazeera and Reuters. Residents, including Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi, told reporters they recognized elders, wives, and children among the captives. News agencies said they could not independently verify where or when the video was filmed, though no earlier copy has turned up online.
Niger State Information Commissioner Obed Nuhu Nana said Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has ordered a joint rescue operation to “assess the situation, track the attackers, and facilitate the rescue of the abducted worshippers.” Police spokesperson SP Wasiu Abiodun said no lives were lost in the attack itself. Some residents have since claimed later deaths and said hundreds of people have fled across the border into Benin Republic; those claims have not been independently confirmed.
Mass kidnapping for ransom has become a grinding crisis across northwestern and north-central Nigeria. Armed gangs raid villages, schools, and highways and hold people until families or communities pay. The latest attack lands as President Bola Tinubu prepares for a presidential election in January, with security already a central campaign issue. Amnesty International has urged Nigerian authorities to secure the worshippers’ release.