Families in northwestern Nigeria are still waiting for news of hundreds of people abducted during a deadly assault last month, as survivors say they have received little information about government efforts to secure their release.
Armed men attacked Dekera and the neighbouring communities of Gidan-Zana and Sabon Gida in Niger state on August 22, killing residents, setting homes ablaze and taking hundreds of people hostage.
Residents estimate that roughly 600 people—mostly women, children and elderly villagers—were kidnapped, while at least 40 others were killed. Authorities have not confirmed those figures.
Isa Zaki, a Dekera resident whose extended family has 10 members among the captives, said the kidnappers had made no contact since the raid.
“We haven’t heard anything from the kidnappers since the abduction,” he said.
Years of insecurity had already forced schools and markets in the area to close, according to Zaki. The latest violence has now emptied much of the village, leaving displaced families without shelter during the rainy season.
“People have fled, soldiers have taken over the town, houses have been burnt, there is nowhere to live, and it is raining,” he said. “It’s been sadness over sadness since the abduction.”
Families say they have been kept in the dark
President Bola Tinubu has instructed security agencies to rescue those being held, but officials have released few details about the operation or the condition of the hostages.
Niger state police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said authorities had no new information to share.
Among those abducted was the sister of civil servant Habibu Salihu, who had given birth only a week before the attack. She was taken alongside her husband and three children, including the newborn.
Salihu said seven other relatives were killed during the raid. In a video released by the attackers shortly afterwards, he saw his sister breastfeeding her baby among the captives. He has received no further news about them.
“We have no information on what is going on,” Salihu said. “No one is telling us anything, and we have no idea what action the government is taking to rescue the hostages.”
No organisation has claimed responsibility for the assault. However, security analysts suspect the involvement of a Boko Haram splinter faction active in the area, despite the militant group’s traditional concentration in northeastern Nigeria.
Authorities in northeastern Benin have confirmed that people crossed into the country following the violence, although they have not disclosed how many arrived.
The deployment of soldiers has brought limited reassurance to the affected communities, but survivors say hunger and homelessness are worsening.
Aminu Inuwa, whose two brothers were killed, said he escaped with almost nothing.
“Our town has been burnt,” he said. “I have only one shirt, no food to eat, nothing else, and our houses are nothing but ashes.”
The raid was one of Nigeria’s largest mass abductions in recent years and has renewed scrutiny of the country’s security crisis ahead of next year’s election.
