Dozens of people were killed and several others kidnapped when armed attackers raided a rural market in central Nigeria, police said, according to Reuters reporting published on October 30. “Over 30 victims lost their lives during the attack, and some persons were also kidnapped. Efforts are ongoing to rescue the kidnapped victims,” police spokesperson 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 p.m. on Saturday, torching stalls and seizing food supplies, according to the report. Locals said the assault followed earlier raids in neighbouring villages, including Agwarra and Borgu, that began on Friday, the report said.
A wave of mass kidnappings across Nigeria
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 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, according to the October 30 report. That context frames the Daji market attack not as an isolated raid but as part of a broader security crisis in Niger state and the wider north-central region. Hunger has also reached record levels in the region, with nearly 35 million people projected to face severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season, according to the United Nations World Food Programme cited in the report. Market attacks that torch stalls and seize food supplies therefore hit twice: they kill traders and shoppers, and they destroy the food those communities depend on.
Rescue efforts under way, toll may rise
Police said efforts are ongoing to rescue the kidnapped victims, but they did not publish a number for those abducted or their identities in the account reviewed. The death toll of “over 30” may also rise as more bodies are recovered from torched stalls and as families report missing relatives. For Demo village and neighbouring Agwarra and Borgu, Saturday’s market — normally a place of trade and social gathering — became a scene of fire and flight. Nigerian security forces now face pressure to both find the kidnapped and prevent a repeat raid on the next market day, in a state where rural markets have repeatedly been targeted because they gather crowds and goods in one open place.
