Dozens of people were killed and several others kidnapped when armed assailants stormed a rural market in central Nigeria, police said on Sunday.
“More than 30 victims lost their lives during the attack, and some persons were also kidnapped. Efforts are on to rescue the kidnapped victims,” police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said, according to Reuters.
Abiodun said the gunmen stormed the Daji market in Demo village in Nigeria’s Niger state at around 4:30 pm on Saturday, setting fire to stalls and seizing food supplies.
Witnesses reported seeing the gunmen entering the area on motorcycles before opening fire.
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A general view of Kura market in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria, December 1, 2025. (Licht Oriye Tamunotonye / AFP via Getty Images)
Locals said the attack followed earlier raids on neighboring villages, including Agwarra and Borgu, which began on Friday.
Dauda Shakulle, who was injured during the flight, told Reuters that even women and children were not spared.
“There have been no security forces present since the attacks began. We are currently recovering bodies,” Shakulle said.
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Released students and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri community arrive at the Government House in Minna, Nigeria on Monday, December 22, 2025. (Sunday Alamba/AP)
The attack comes amid a wave of mass kidnappings across Nigeria in recent months, including the abduction of 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria. Kebbi State in November and the seizure of more than 300 children and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s Private Catholic School in Niger State.
The Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA), a Catholic religious congregation, confirmed later that all those kidnapped from the school have since been safely released.
“From the first hours of the kidnapping, the OLA family – together with the local church in the Diocese of Kontagora, the Papiri families and communities across Nigeria – has been buoyed by a remarkable global solidarity of prayer and advocacy. We express our deepest and most sincere gratitude to all who stood with us during this painful time,” said Sister Mary Barron, the congregational leader of the OLA Sisters.
A signboard for St. Mary’s Private Catholic Secondary School stands at the entrance of the school in Papiri, Agwarra local government area, Niger state, Nigeria, November 23, 2025. (Ifeanyi Immanuel Bakwenye/AFP via Getty Images)
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Rising insecurity and insurgent violence in northern Nigeria are driving hunger to record levels, with nearly 35 million people expected to face severe food insecurity in the 2026 lean season, according to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).
The WFP warned In November, that uncontrolled hunger during the lean season, the pre-harvest period when food supplies are often at their lowest, could further destabilize the region by allowing insurgent groups to exploit the desperation and expand their influence.
