A document containing the names of 547 people allegedly abducted from communities in Niger State during Juma’at prayers has emerged, with the victims reportedly still in the custody of armed groups.
The victims were reportedly taken from five communities in Dekara District, Borgu Local Government Area, during an attack on August 21, 2026.
According to the document, 88 people were abducted from Dekara, nine from Kpenya, 104 from Giagbasso, 341 from Gbenji and five from Gbebara, bringing the reported total to 547.
The victims were allegedly taken into the forest within the Kainji Lake National Park, where their whereabouts and condition remained unknown as of September 24.
The list includes men, women and children from the affected communities. It also contains the names of community leaders and several members of individual families.
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However, the document reportedly contains duplicate names, repeated entries and numbering inconsistencies, indicating that information may have been compiled from different community records.
The identities and current status of every person on the list have not been independently verified, and it was not immediately clear whether any of those listed had been released after the document was compiled.
The mass abduction has caused concern among families and residents in the affected communities, particularly because of the large number of people reportedly taken into the forest.
Initial reports following the attack had given lower figures, while residents and community sources continued to maintain that hundreds of people were still missing.
The latest document puts the number of alleged victims at 547, with Gbenji accounting for the largest number of reported abductions.
Families of those missing are calling for urgent intervention from the government and security agencies to locate the victims and secure their release.
Security concerns have also increased around the Kainji Lake National Park and neighbouring communities following reports of attacks and abductions by armed groups in the area.
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