Nigeria Dawn Raids In Niger State Kill At Least 32

Monday 16th February 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

Gunmen killed at least 32 people in coordinated dawn raids on three communities in Nigeria’s Niger State, a fresh escalation in a security crisis that has widened beyond the northeast insurgency zone into north-central and northwestern corridors where armed gangs and militant groups operate.

Police said attackers struck the communities of Tunga-Makeri, Konkoso and Pissa in the Borgu area of Niger State. Niger State police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun confirmed fatalities in Tunga-Makeri and said an unspecified number of people were abducted. A resident of Konkoso told the Associated Press that 26 people were killed there.

Niger State raids: key details

The attacks were reported as simultaneous raids that began before dawn, with residents describing delayed or absent security response in at least one location. Police reported six deaths in Tunga-Makeri, with additional casualties in other communities reported by local residents. The Associated Press said some houses were set ablaze during the raids.

The Niger State killings follow a mass-casualty attack earlier in February in neighbouring Kwara State, where 162 people were reported killed in an overnight raid on a village in Kaiama local government area, underlining the scale of lethal violence that local authorities have struggled to deter.

Nigeria’s security challenge now spans multiple threat types: long-running jihadist insurgencies linked to Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast; banditry networks in the northwest; and kidnapping-for-ransom and communal violence across parts of the middle belt. Analysts and humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that weak rural policing, porous borders, and weapon flows have helped sustain armed groups even as military operations push militants out of some areas.

The latest raids also land amid rising international attention on Nigeria’s capacity to protect civilians. The United States said it would deploy about 200 troops to support training and technical assistance for Nigeria’s military, in a move framed as support against Islamist militants. Reuters reported the deployment after U.S. airstrikes and broader statements by the U.S. administration about insecurity in northern Nigeria. Nigerian authorities have not released a consolidated national casualty figure for the Niger State raids beyond police-confirmed details in one community, and reporting on totals has varied across outlets. This report states only the minimum confirmed toll and attributed local accounts where relevant.