In a midnight assault that has deepened fears over worsening insecurity in Nigeria’s northwest, more than 100 suspected terrorists overran Ƙyara town in the Birnin Gobir Local Government Area of Sokoto State, killing at least seven residents and injuring several others.
The attack occurred late Wednesday night, January 14, 2026, when heavily armed terrorists surrounded the community from all directions, blocking major access routes before unleashing gunfire on sleeping residents.
Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene of panic as families fled their homes amid the sound of sustained shooting.
The terrorists also reportedly looted livestock and other valuables before withdrawing.
The victims, including men defending their households, were buried on Thursday in mass graves following Islamic rites, with mourners gathering amid heavy tension.
Several injured survivors are receiving treatment in local hospitals, some in critical condition.
Disturbingly, Nigerian security forces failed to respond despite receiving distress calls from residents during the assault.
Instead, troops from neighboring Niger Republic crossed the border in pursuit of the fleeing attackers, highlighting the increasingly transnational nature of armed violence in the Sahel borderlands.
The raid comes just days after similar attacks in the same region.
On Tuesday, suspected terrorists linked to the same network abducted over 20 residents from Gajit community in the nearby Lajinge district of Sabon Birni LGA.
Earlier incidents in Isa LGA, including raids on Tidibale and Bargaja villages, have been attributed by local security alerts to loyalists of notorious terrorists leader Bello Turji, who has intensified operations to exert control over eastern Sokoto communities.
Birnin Gobir and surrounding areas in eastern Sokoto have faced escalating terrorism since mid-2025, with repeated killings, mass abductions, farmland destruction, and forced displacement of thousands of residents.
Communities have repeatedly expressed frustration over the lack of effective protection and slow official responses.
As of Thursday afternoon, neither the Sokoto State Government nor federal security agencies had issued an official statement on the latest incident.
Residents are calling for urgent, intelligence-driven operations to dismantle armed groups operating in the region and prevent further bloodshed.
The attack underscores the persistent security crisis gripping Nigeria’s northwest, where banditry, kidnappings for ransom, and clashes over resources continue to claim lives and destabilize rural areas despite periodic military assurances.
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