Residents of farming communities in Borgu and Agwara Local Government Areas of Niger State blocked the Mokwa-New Bussa road on Monday to protest persistent attacks on their communities by terrorists.

The protest was led by the Borgu Youth Federation, with members of several associations in Borgu Kingdom, including members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), participating.

Daily Trust gathered that the protesters blocked the road at the Bussa roundabout, an entry point to the Borgu Kingdom, as early as 5:30am, despite the rain.

Commuters travelling to New Bussa and Agwara from the Mokwa axis were reportedly stranded.

Speaking with Daily Trust on the telephone, Aliyu Abdulmajeed, the Auditor of the Borgu Youth Federation, said the protest was triggered by an alleged comment by the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, that only 30 people were kidnapped during the attacks on Jummaat Mosques in Dekara and three other communities.

He said while the five hundred worshippers had remained in Captivity for the past three weeks, attacks had continued, with many communities being deserted.

“Two LGAs are participating in this protest, Borgu and Agwara LGAs. We are not happy with the the ongoing security challenges in these two LGAs. We have been in this problem for the past three years. Because government has failed to take action, attacks by terrorists have degeneted to tribal clashes and government is watching people dying on a daily basis.

“You recall the attacks on Dekara and other villages, where about 500 people were kidnapped. These people are still in Captivity. Last week, 30 of these people were slaughtered and beheaded and relatives were asked to go and pick the bodies. The dead bodies were evacuated from where they were dumped and buried. We have raised our concerns before appropriate authorities several times, including the LG chairman.

“Yesterday, we heard the governor saying that only 30 people were kidnapped. The governor does not get the right information of happenings in our communities. Who informed the governor that only 30 people were kidnapped?” he said.

Asked if the the bodies of the 30 people reportedly slaughtered had been buried, Abdulmajeed said “They have been buried. Some people are misleading the governor. Some families could not even identify the bodies of their loved ones because the heads were taken away. Some bodies were identified from their physiques.”

He said insecurity that had degeneted to tribal clashes between farmers and herders in Agwara LGA had claimed 8 lives last two weeks and hundreds displaced.

The Auditor added that an attack on Guchana community in Borgu LGA on Saturday and Sunday left 30 vigilantes injured.

“These vigilantes cannot even access modern healthcare facility for treatment. They are currently at various traditional medicine healers for treatment. There is no government presence in that area. Even hospital is not available in that area.

“We are demanding the government to address our challenges. We have been neglected. There is no government presence here. Why have attacks continued and government keeping deaf ears to our pleas?” he inquired.

The Chairman of Borgu LGA in Niger State, Mohammed Nasir Abdullahi, told our Correspondent last week via telephone that adequate security personnel had been deployed to the local government area to forestall further terrorist attacks on local communities.

He said the deployment followed an appeal to the Federal Government by the Niger State government after terrorists attacked Jumaat mosques in Dekara, Gbezhin, Sabon-Gida, and Kpenya on August 21, 2026, abducting an unspecified number of worshippers.

The attackers later killed about 30 of the abductees.

The council chairman noted that no new incidents had been recorded since the August mosque attacks, dismissing a recently circulated video as fake.

“The video in circulation is fake. Nothing like that has happened in Borgu LGA. We have made our findings and there is no security report to that effect. Even our traditional rulers who are the custodians of the affected areas have denied such happening.

“After the last attack on Jumaat Mosques on August 21, the President, through the efforts of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, ordered deployment of massive security personnel along that corridor. Government has taken serious measures.

“There is presence of adequate Security personnel in those corridors and most of the routes we know they use have been blocked,” he said. (Daily Trust)