Gunmen Kill 50 in Attack on Mosque, Homes in Nigeria

KANO: At least 50 people were killed and around 60 others abducted when armed men attacked a mosque and nearby homes in northwest Nigeria, Katsina state, officials and residents said on Wednesday.

The assault took place early Tuesday in Unguwan Mantau village of Malumfashi district, as worshippers gathered for Fajr, the dawn prayer. Witnesses said the attackers, riding motorcycles, stormed the mosque and opened fire before sweeping through the community.

Aminu Ibrahim, a lawmaker from Malumfashi, said at least 30 people were shot dead while 20 others were burned alive in what he described as a series of “brutal” raids.

Katsina police spokesman Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu said officers intercepted the gunmen and prevented further assaults on two nearby villages, but the attackers unleashed gunfire on Mantau residents as they retreated. Several homes were set ablaze before security forces regained control, he added.

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Survivors described harrowing scenes of women and girls being dragged away. “They started shooting inside the mosque while people were praying,” said Muhammad Abdullahi, a resident. “My neighbour was killed. I was lucky I didn’t come out early.”

Fatima Abakar, an official at Malumfashi general hospital, told Reuters that 27 bodies had been registered at the morgue, though many others were taken away for Islamic burial rites.

Northwest Nigeria has in recent years faced a surge in deadly raids by armed groups, locally known as bandits, who attack villages and highways, abduct residents for ransom and extort farming communities.