Dozens killed in bandit attacks in northeast Nigeria villages

Dozens of people were killed in two suspected attacks by armed gangs in Nigeria’s northeastern Taraba state, officials and local residents reported on Saturday.

The attacks occurred in the Karim Lamido district during the early hours of the day. While the state governor confirmed the loss of “scores of lives and properties,” residents in the affected villages of Munga and Magani placed the death toll at nearly 30.

“It was midnight when I heard gunshots. I woke my brother and others,” said one resident of Magani. “After the attackers left, we found 16 dead bodies scattered throughout the village.”

A villager from Munga recounted discovering 13 bodies in the aftermath of the assault.

The governor condemned the violence as “horrendous and unacceptable,” blaming the incidents on armed gangs commonly referred to as bandits. These groups routinely launch violent raids, burn homes, loot property, and kidnap villagers for ransom—tactics that have become common in many parts of the country.

Though such bandit attacks are more frequent in Nigeria’s northwest, the latest killings mark a troubling expansion of violence in the northeast, a region already burdened by years of insurgency and instability.