The Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umar Bago, was in Ilorin on Wednesday. He came to celebrate the turbaning of Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin. The ceremony was held at the Emir’s Palace. Vice President Kashim Shettima attended. The event was broadcast live on national television.
Back in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, four villages remain deserted. On 21 August 2026, terrorists raided Dekara, Kpenya, Sabon-Gida and Gidan-Zana. They struck during Jummah prayers. Worshippers were dragged from mosques. Witnesses said the attackers wore military-style clothing and arrived on motorcycles. The terrorists marched their captives into the forest. A video later showed women, children and elderly men sitting in a forest clearing. A gunman told families to identify their relatives. “Your people are with us here,” he said.
The figures remain contested. The Borgu LGA chairman, Mohammed Abdullahi, said about 60 worshippers were abducted and close to 30 were killed. Residents say the true figure is far higher. A local youth leader told the BBC that as many as 500 people were taken. A prince of the Borgu Emirate, Murtala Dantoro, said more than 1,000 people have been abducted from the emirate in recent months. The terrorists themselves released a video claiming to hold about 500 captives. No ransom demands have been made. Some of the kidnapped worshippers have reportedly been killed. Their bodies were recovered from the forest. Security operatives cannot easily reach the area. The routes are planted with improvised explosive devices.
Thousands have fled. More than 200 residents of Gbezin are now living as internally displaced persons in the Benin Republic. Others have moved to Kwara State. Dekara District is deserted. Only military and security personnel remain. The terrorists issued a warning after the attack. They told residents to vacate their homes within 30 minutes. “Whoever they meet when they return will be slaughtered,” one resident said.
This is not the first attack on Borgu. In January 2026, gunmen attacked Kasuwan-Daji village in Borgu, killing at least 30 people and abducting others. In February 2026, Kwara Governor Abdulrazaq paid a condolence visit to Niger State over terrorist attacks in Borgu Emirate. The pattern is consistent. Armed groups operate across the Niger-Kwara-Benin Republic border. The Kainji Lake National Park provides cover. Unconfirmed reports link the August attack to Ansaru. Security sources also mention Lakurawa terrorists, previously active in Sokoto and Kebbi, extending into Niger’s Zone C axis.
President Bola Tinubu ordered a coordinated rescue operation. He directed the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services and intelligence agencies to launch a manhunt. The Inspector General of Police deployed armed Mobile Policemen led by AIG Victor Olaiya of Zone 7. The Niger State Police said intelligence is being analysed for a “hitch-free rescue mission”. That was in August. It is now September. The captives remain in the forest.
Winners: The terrorists, who have demonstrated the capacity to abduct hundreds and hold them without consequence. The political class, which continues its ceremonial calendar while the security crisis deepens. The Abuja and Ilorin elites, who attend turbaning ceremonies while rural communities are depopulated. Losers: The 500 or more captives, who have spent nearly a month in forest captivity. The families who have received no ransom demands and no rescue. The residents of Borgu, who have fled to the Benin Republic and Kwara State. The Nigerian state, which cannot protect its citizens or reclaim its territory.
Bottom Line: The Governor of Niger State went to Ilorin to celebrate a chieftaincy title. The people of Borgu are in the forest. The turbaning was broadcast live. The abduction was not. Nigeria does not have a kidnapping problem. It has a government that treats some crises as ceremonial and others as invisible. The 500 have been invisible since 21 August.