By Ogungbayi Adeyemi S. | adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com
Editor, DDNews |
DDNewsOnline – Lagos, August 10, 2026
Terrorists have reportedly killed a woman and a man travelling in a vehicle and abducted other passengers along the Kainji–Ibbi–Zurguma–Mokwa Road in Ibbi, Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State.
The woman was reportedly travelling with her three-month-old baby when the attackers stopped the vehicle.
According to a resident who spoke in a telephone interview posted online by Gaskiya News Hausa and monitored by SaharaReporters, the terrorists killed the woman and the man before tying the infant to the woman’s body and leaving with other passengers in the vehicle.
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The resident said the incident occurred amid a worsening wave of attacks, killings and abductions along the route, which he described as a major transportation corridor connecting communities in northern Nigeria with parts of the southern region.
“Yesterday, a woman and a man were killed in a vehicle. The woman had a child with her; the child was on her back. After they killed her, they tied the baby to her and went away with the other people in the vehicle,” the resident said.
He said the Kainji–Ibbi–Zurguma–Mokwa route had increasingly become a nightmare for travellers, with residents living in constant fear of attacks.
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He appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, and other authorities responsible for security to urgently intervene before more people are killed or abducted.
“From the President down to the governor, and everyone responsible for taking action, if you are saying you are going to help us, please help us. We should not have to wait until terrorists come and kill us before something is done,” he said.
The resident said the state government had repeatedly promised to take action against the terrorists operating in the area, but residents were yet to see any meaningful improvement in their security situation.
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“You see, the governor has repeatedly said that action will be taken. He has said it many times, but we are yet to see the action,” he said.
He said the security situation had become so serious that residents of Mashegu Local Government Area could hardly identify any significant government intervention capable of protecting them.
“We are in Mashegu Local Government Area. By God and His Prophet, there is no government activity here that you can point to and say, ‘This is what the government has done for us.’ Our biggest problem now is security,” he said.
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According to him, attacks along the road have become a daily occurrence, with travellers and farmers facing the constant threat of being pursued into the surrounding forests.
“Journalist, you are speaking to me from the Ibbi area of Mashegu Local Government. We are truly living in a situation of insecurity. There is hardly a day that passes without hearing that people have been attacked on this road. There is no such day,” he said.
“Sometimes, within two or three days, people will be followed and chased into the forest. Every day, people are pursued into the forest. Here in Ibbi, even going to our farms has become impossible. Once you go there, you can encounter these terrorists, and they will chase you into the forest. This is what we face every day.”
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Asked which communities or sections of the road were most affected by the attacks, the resident identified the stretch between Ibbi and Tufallagi, particularly the forested area.
“Between Ibbi and Tufallagi, especially this forest area,” he said.
He said the attackers did not operate according to a particular time of day, making it difficult for travellers to predict when they could safely use the road.
“There is no particular time when they do not come out. They come in groups, sometimes about 20, 30 or even 10 people. There is no fixed time when they appear,” he said.
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“You cannot say they only come in the morning, afternoon or at night. They can appear at any time, and you can encounter them at any time.”
The resident said the deteriorating security situation had also caused the once-busy highway to become unusually deserted.
“Sometimes you will even find the road completely deserted, with no vehicles. It has been a long time since we have seen this road so empty. There are no vehicles,” he said.
He described the road as an important transportation route linking northern communities with other parts of Nigeria.
“This road is normally a major route used for transportation, connecting areas in the northern part of Nigeria to the southern part of the country,” he said.
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The resident said there was currently little or no visible security presence along the road despite the growing number of attacks.
Asked about the current security situation, he said:
“Honestly, there is no security presence on the road. The road has been abandoned. Any driver who comes through this place is essentially risking his life just to pass through.”
Asked whether security personnel were stationed along the route to check vehicles and protect travellers, he replied:
“There is nobody.”
He said the repeated assurances by government officials that security measures would be deployed had failed to restore confidence among residents.
“What worries us every day is that the government keeps saying it will take action. They keep saying action will be taken, but the time has come for action to actually be taken,” he said.
“The people have completely lost hope. I am appealing, in the name of God and His Prophet, for the government to have mercy on the people in this area and help us.”
“You hear the governor saying action will be taken, but nothing happens. Even the chairman of the local government has spoken about the situation, yet nothing has been done. We do not know what is happening.”
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The resident said the terrorists operate from forested areas, emerging onto the highway to attack travellers before retreating into the bush.
“For example, today they may seize a vehicle; tomorrow they may seize another vehicle. Yesterday, a woman and a man were killed in a vehicle. The woman had a child with her, and the child was on her back,” he said.
“Today, they also stopped a car and took everyone inside. As I speak to you, the car is still there, abandoned, with nobody inside because they have taken the people who were in it.”
The resident warned that periods of apparent calm should not be mistaken for an end to the attacks.
“Sometimes, after two days, people hear that things appear quiet and they assume that peace has returned,” he said.
Asked whether the apparent calm between Ibbi, Gurma and the Kainji area represented genuine security, he said it did not.
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“Honestly, the calm is only on the surface. It is not real,” he said.
“There is no day now when people in Ibbi can simply go to their farms and return safely. The situation remains very bad.”
He said several villages had effectively been deserted as residents fled their homes because of repeated terrorist attacks.
“People have already fled because of the activities of these terrorists. The farms have been abandoned and destroyed. People cannot go there to cultivate or maintain their farms,” he added.
The resident was also asked about reports that some Lakurawa fighters had entered the area and whether the attackers were the same group of bandits that had traditionally operated in the region.
He rejected the description of the attackers as Lakurawa, saying residents considered those currently attacking them to be terrorists.
“No, these are terrorists. The Lakurawa reportedly left the area after fighting among themselves. That is the information we have received. But the people attacking us are terrorists,” he said.
He accused authorities of making repeated promises without taking sufficient action to protect residents.
“You see, every day they say action will be taken, but no action is taken. We are appealing to those in authority to fear God and help us,” he said.
“We are poor people. We have no power and no means of protecting ourselves. All we can do is depend on God.”
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The resident appealed directly to the Niger State Government to take concrete measures to protect communities and travellers along the affected routes.
“We appeal to the governor to help us. We heard that he held meetings with the traditional institutions of Mai-Sugon, Kagara and Kainji and said action would be taken,” he said.
“But what we want is not just promises. We want to see the action on the ground. We want to see tangible security measures that ordinary people can actually feel.”
“From the President to the governor, and everyone responsible for taking action, if you say you are going to help us, please help us. We should not have to wait until terrorists come and kill us before something is done.”
By Ogungbayi Adeyemi S. (Beedee)
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