North-Central

Panic came last for Mubarak Hassan* on the evening of March 28, 2022. 

It’s been four years since the terrorist attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train, but the memories still echo. After one of his clients was arrested by the Nigeria Customs Service  (NCS) for alleged forgery, Mubarak travelled to the Abuja Headquarters to process his administrative bail. He was supposed to return on the same day he finished the process, but decided to spend one more night. 

“My client’s family friend,  who also happened to be a lawyer, insisted that we catch up with the evening train,” he recalled.  Tired and exhausted, Mubarak was sleeping on board when the sound of a blast reached him. 

“The next thing I heard was a voice saying that we were under attack and we should turn off our phones and lie down, which we all did. At first, I did not panic. I was asking myself if it was real or maybe the train just shifted its position, and it was misinterpreted to be an attack,” he said.

His worst fears were confirmed five minutes later, after the first gunshot tore through the wind, hitting the body of the train. Everything was happening so fast that he was struggling to process it. 

The attack on the train carrying 970 passengers happened at approximately 7:45 p.m. in Katari, Kaduna State, northwestern Nigeria. The terrorists used explosives to halt the train before firing and kidnapping passengers. This incident, which resulted in ten deaths, multiple injuries and kidnappings, later caused the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to pause its services. 

“We started to hear the screams of passengers from other coaches and the footsteps of people heading towards our coach for safety, because the gunfire started from their side. Other people in our coach started to scream as well, but a man who identified as a Colonel with the Nigerian army said that our screams would draw the attention of the terrorists to us, so we tried to keep calm,” Mubarak told HumAngle.

Mubarak, like many others in the coach, started praying. Panic heightened as the terrorists reached the coach before them. Their voices echoed through the train as they asked people to keep quiet and lie down. 

“We heard a gunshot, and one of them asked the other terrorist who shot someone why he did that in Hausa, and he said it was because the man was showing he wanted to survive more than anyone else by raising his head, but the other terrorist said no one should shoot again, they should just take people and leave.”

A few minutes passed before they started to hear other gunshots, and the man who said he was a colonel said some soldiers came to rescue them. When the soldiers arrived, they told them not to panic and asked them to check the other coaches for their relatives. 

“Our coach was one of the safest, except for a medical doctor who was killed as a result of a stray bullet; no one else was shot.  The first thing I saw when I stepped outside was the dead body of a man. Some other people were bleeding due to some injuries they sustained.  We started helping the soldiers evacuate the passengers. The younger ones, like us, helped carry the children and elderly ones on their backs, after which the wounded ones were also moved,” he added. 

They had to climb up a sloppy hill because of the train’s position. They rested for about 20 minutes before they trekked to the main road. The army later transported them to the 44 Hospital in Kaduna around 5:30 a.m. They were checked, and people like Mubarak, who sustained no injuries, were discharged by 6 a.m. 

That was the last time Mubarak used the train. 

But this attack is only one of many issues that eroded passengers’ trust and raised concerns over the years. Train stops in the middle of nowhere, derailments, ticket racketeering, and other issues continue to affect passengers. Despite these pending issues, the NRC increased the number of trips per day earlier this month in “response to growing passenger demand.”  

This increase was what encouraged Sada Malumfashi, a journalist and researcher, to take the train again on March 12, something he had avoided recently due to the stress of trying to get a ticket for the single train ride per day. He didn’t expect to end up in an accident that day. 

According to the NRC, the accident occurred when a rear locomotive made contact with a passenger coach due to a coupling issue, and no casualties were reported. The train arrived 38 minutes behind schedule due to the accident. 

“We left on time around 7:15 a.m. It was a smooth ride at first. When we reached Jere, they made an announcement, but we couldn’t hear it from our coach. I drifted off to sleep but woke up to a banging noise. I fell off my seat, but I didn’t hit anything,” Sada said. “Due to the previous history of attacks, people were terrified, many were shouting, praying loudly, and panicking. 

Sada assumed the train was going to derail, and he tried to hold onto whatever he could. “My second thought was that maybe it was a terrorist attack, I crouched waiting for gunshots just in case because I did some reporting on the last train attack that happened in 2022 and talking to people who were directly on that train gave me a front row seat to that experience and what they described was very similar to what was happening at the moment,” he said. 

When he didn’t hear any gunshots, he got up and began checking his surroundings. The place was in disarray: luggage was on the floor, and things spilt from the cafe section at the end of their coach. 

“I saw one of the workers lying on the floor, and his leg was bleeding. There was also a pregnant lady crying as she hit her stomach. Someone couldn’t stand up because he hit his back, and another person behind me was bleeding through his mouth,” he explained. 

The incident happened about two to three minutes from Asham station on the Abuja-Kaduna corridor, so he walked to the station. Some military personnel arrived to check the accident, which gave passengers some comfort. After a while, a Hilux car, assumed to be from the  NRC, came to check the accident. 

“They didn’t communicate anything, but they took a look around. At that point, many passengers were out of the train and were hanging around outside. They turned on the engine, and we started moving again. It was a sombre trip back to Kubwa,” he said.  

A long history of train glitches

It was one such stop that made Chidera Egbo’s first visit to northern Nigeria in December 2021 a journey wrapped in terror. After he was posted to Kaduna for his National Youth Service, he tried to get a direct car from Enugu, southeastern Nigeria, where he was based, but unfortunately, he could only get one to Abuja, where he was advised to take a train. He was excited as it was his first time on a train.

Things went well at first, and he started a conversation with the girl sitting next to him. “While we were chatting, we heard an explosive sound and the train started to slow down. People started to talk, but I couldn’t understand anything as they were mostly speaking their native tongue,” he said. He panicked along with them.  The incident happened about 10 to 15 minutes away from the Kaduna station. 

He noted that there were some armed security personnel on board that day. He remembered seeing some people lying on the floor, and he followed suit. 

When the train stopped, he started to regret getting on it, and his fear worsened when someone said it was a terrorist attack. The lack of official clarification about what was happening also increased his panic. Even an hour after their supposed arrival time, no help was sent from the station. When the lights went out, a man in their coach suggested they lie down and shut off their phone lights because everyone assumed they were under attack. During that period, some passengers panicked, thinking they saw lights they believed were people approaching. They turned out to be distant static lights. 

“There was zero reception, and I had no way of contacting people to let them know what was happening. After a while, they told us that help was coming from Abuja.” The lack of phone reception rattled many of the passengers, who were worried about their families back home and had no idea what was happening to them. Some passengers demanded information. Eventually, people started to lighten up when an NRC staff member announced that help would be arriving in about 30 to 40 minutes. 

After a while, some people started demanding to be let out of the train due to the heat. It took hours for the help to arrive, and the train kept stopping as it was being pushed towards the Kaduna station. He didn’t make it to his destination till after 2 p.m. 

The experience left him rattled. He now feels anxious every time he has to travel. “I don’t travel often, but when I do, I am always on edge and feel like I am going to be attacked,” he said. 

Despite the impact of this incident, it was mostly not covered by the mainstream media. 

For some people, like Rashida Idris*, stories like this make them sceptical about using the service. “ I always hear people say it gets faulty midway, and I prefer to use the car due to how inconvenient the train is. But then, on the 2nd of August 2025, my mum, older brother, and I decided to use the train to travel down to Abuja, and it turned out to be the worst decision we made that day,” she said. It started with a slight burning smell that worsened as the train moved on, then slowed and later stopped completely. 

The train, which was supposed to leave at 7:00 a.m., didn’t arrive until 2:30 p.m, and they ended up missing the event for which they were travelling. Drinking water ran out on board, and the air conditioners stopped working, leaving people anxious and dehydrated in the heat. 

“It was very chaotic, and we were very hungry and tired. The train just stopped mid-way, no explanation from them whatsoever,” she told HumAngle.

She hasn’t used the train again since that day. 

Sometimes, these stops harm passengers, as in August 2025, when they caused a derailment en route to Kaduna. Khadija Zahradden, who was on that train, said a loud noise woke her up from a nap. 

“The train started shaking, and there was a loud sound before it fell. Some parts of the train, like the coach I was in, were slanted, but it didn’t fall down completely. I remembered it was raining,” she said. 

The passengers got off the train and began trekking to a nearby military camp. A lot of security personnel came over, including fire service and road safety officials. She recalled that a military aircraft was patrolling and left with some of the people. 

“The military personnel also carried passengers to the closest bus stop, where we got cars to complete our trip,” she said.  

Dysfunction, ticket racketeering

Bukar Hassan* was on the first-ever train ride on that route, and for the past few years, he has used it to shuttle between the two states. But now, the journey lacks enthusiasm, and his experience keeps worsening, with tickets becoming harder to obtain by the day.

“First, you have to know someone reliable whom you probably have to keep on your payroll in anticipation of a future occurrence. Usually, an NRC or TPS staff member guarantees an offline ticket,” Bukar said. “Where they are unable to secure one themselves, they look to a syndicate that has created jobs for itself through this channel. You pay double the price, and most times, the ticket is issued in another person’s name, and you probably have to do with what is available, not your preferred class of travel.” This causes the 62-year-old man major concern. 

Apart from the barriers to getting tickets, technical breakdowns occasionally occur, and the experience is usually alarming, especially if the train stops in the middle of nowhere. The security concern is also a major issue for him, as are the stops, which affect his commitments, causing delays in scheduled meeting times and travel schedules.

This is also worsened by insufficient communication, leaving passengers to fill in the blanks when something happens. 

“Passengers hardly know what the issues are and rely mostly on hearsay. In some cases, apologies are not even tendered,” he lamented, noting that the recent creation of a passenger’s forum has provided passengers with an avenue to lodge complaints. 

HumAngle investigations reveal that when complaints are made, organisation staff respond promptly via the WhatsApp forum, but this has not reduced the number of issues plaguing travellers, and many people are unaware of this channel. A disabled passenger who spoke to HumAngle, but preferred not to be named, said the organisation is making efforts to make rides more accommodating for disabled passengers, with customer service representatives approaching them to discuss their needs. However, Bukar showed concern that the uncontrollable number of bag carriers on and off the train poses a security risk. 

“Security personnel handling weapons on board in the midst of plenty, even though comforting, can easily be manhandled. Sometimes, desperate passengers board without tickets. This is a major concern as you are not sure who is a genuine traveller,” he said. 

“There are too many ad hoc staff on board doing nothing but jumping up and down and making noise. Some are only waiting for the arrival to carry passengers’ bags. Thirdly, a single channel of buying tickets only is grossly inadequate. A more reliable, functional app should be available for passengers to buy tickets in advance. I personally do not see the rationale for restricting ticket purchases to only 48 hours. It does not make any business sense. These will actually be more efficient, and also reduce the offline business,” he added. 

Bukar also noticed that, during trips, stones are sometimes thrown aboard by nearby communities. He thought the incident had eased over the years, but HumAngle investigations show that this problem still persists: on December 24 2025, a stone was thrown aboard, shattering a window, which almost hit a passenger with her baby. 

Bukar continues to use that service, as the train is still the most convenient means of transportation for him at the moment. 

Like Bukar, Hassan Yunus*, who travels twice or three times a month, depending on his schedule, faces a similar problem. His family lives in Kaduna, while he works in Abuja. He frequently uses the train, which he considers the easiest and fastest way to travel between the two cities.  

“As a frequent passenger, I experience long stops quite a number of times, sometimes 30 minutes, sometimes an hour, depending on the cause, but the management and the operation team will work to resolve the situation. To me, the management is trying, just that they need to improve as a revenue-generating corporation,” he said. 

He believes the biggest barrier travellers face is ticketing issues with the transport payment solutions. He thinks the issue is fueled by poor customer service and system downtime. This also affects passengers’ quality of life, as many would have to stay awake to buy a ticket in the middle of the night. In a few instances, he was wrongfully debited after booking a ticket, and the process to get a refund for the missing ticket is usually stressful. 

Another passenger, Balarabe Bello*, says getting tickets from Abuja to Kaduna is often a struggle. “I often notice that sometimes they hold the servers, and you will struggle to get a ticket, especially the business class tickets. Even if you are on the app by 12:00 a.m. when tickets are supposed to be released, it just keeps loading, and you can’t buy them,” Balarabe said. 

In such cases, most people will attempt to buy directly from the train station workers, and a business class ticket, which usually goes for ₦6500, can sell for ₦8500, and he had heard of people being sold tickets as high as ₦15,000.

“My mum travels often as she works in Kaduna, and she is always complaining of one issue or another, such as uncomfortable seats and other technical issues. One time when I was on it, the train stopped in the middle of nowhere for like 10 to 15 minutes as a result of a burning smell coming from under the train,” he said. 

To confirm claims of ticket racketeering by passengers, a HumAngle reporter followed the process of purchasing tickets outside the official channel. We interacted with NRC officials selling tickets through the back door to desperate passengers, short-changing the government. We also found that some individuals who are not working in the ticketing office also profit from the existing dysfunction by charging passengers far above official rates. The back-door procedure is simple: you provide your full name, phone number, and National Identity Number (NIN), then pay extra for the tickets. Although there’s a website to purchase tickets, many passengers are unaware of it, leaving them with no option but to patronise the racketeers.

Halimat Akande* knew that getting tickets for the Kaduna-Abuja train could be a hassle, so she tried to buy tickets earlier for a Monday trip. She wanted to purchase two for herself and her mother at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, but there weren’t any seats available.  

“My mom contacted someone who claims to work there. He said we should pay ₦5,000 for each ticket,” she said, a claim HumAngle confirms to be true. The price for economy or standard tickets on the website ranges from ₦3,600 to ₦ 3,800, depending on the seating arrangement. This option is the most affordable means of transportation from Kaduna to Abuja, as even car rides cost ₦9,000. 

The NRC official, whom Halimat contacted, had mistakenly bought Abuja-Kaduna train tickets instead of Kaduna-Abuja. He reassured her they would receive their proper tickets before their trip, asking them to arrive early on the travel date, as a worker from the Abuja station would hand them the tickets at the train station.

They arrived an hour before their trip.  “We stayed outside as we couldn’t check in since we didn’t have a ticket. A man approached us and told us we were not supposed to be standing there, and if we didn’t have a ticket, we should get out of the station.” Halimat and her mother both felt embarrassed and left the station to prevent further discomfort. 

When the man arrived, he asked them to wait a little longer, claiming he had their tickets ready. However, when he brought the tickets, both were registered under different names. She also noticed that one ticket was for the previous date, but he assured them it wouldn’t be a problem. After he spoke to some people, they were allowed to board with the one valid ticket. 

The man said he would get her a valid ticket before the journey started, but he never did. “After we boarded, my mum sat down in the assigned seat, and I sat down in the then-empty seat beside her, but the original owner came, and I had to stand up. I kept moving to about four or five random seats, but the rightful owners came up to claim those seats,” she told HumAngle. 

She met her colleague, who was in the same predicament when he came to claim her mother’s seat as his own; the details on his ticket matched hers exactly. 

“He told me that he was even going to take the road, but someone called him to tell him they had gotten him a ticket, only to give him the same exact ticket my mother had, which further complicated the situation. I think he ended up standing for a while,” Halimat said.  Eventually, her mother offered her a seat and tried to find an empty one on the train, but it took a while before they got one for Halimat.  

She was nervous and anxious, even after she got a seat, especially during the ticket verification round that happens during the trip. When the man reached her, she switched off her phone and claimed the battery had died. Fortunately, he bought her story, and she was able to escape for a moment. But her anxiety remained as the man told her to charge her phone before he returned, which he never did. 

“Even though I knew they couldn’t drop me while the train was in motion, I was worried they might report or  arrest me because  I had broken a rule.” The whole experience was terrible, and she started advising people not to buy tickets offline from station workers. 

For Nabila Shehu*, her trip to Abuja on July 25 2025, took a turn for the worse when she arrived at the train station and discovered that the number of passengers exceeded the original arrangement. 

“It seemed their server had issues that day, and some people were debited but didn’t get a ticket. Due to the high number of people that were affected, they just opened the train and asked us all to get in,” Nabila said. 

She couldn’t get a ticket earlier and called someone at the train station, who promised to get her one, but due to the pending issue, he couldn’t process any tickets for her and her four children. 

“We couldn’t get seats, but one of the staff members on board gave me his stool and also helped me get another. I couldn’t sit, and the children took turns,” she complained, noting that the trip was difficult and exhausting, as they arrived late. The air conditioner was barely working, she added, and the train was moving too slowly due to an overload.  “It was a terrible experience, and I avoided the train when I was returning.” 

However, when she used the train again in November, she encountered no issues.

HumAngle sent an email to the NRC seeking clarification on issues raised by passengers regarding dysfunction and ticket racketeering in the Abuja-Kaduna train operations.  We have yet to receive a response. Meanwhile, the risks of travelling the 198km between Abuja and Kaduna remain high, as passengers are forced to choose between the road, which has been under construction for the past six years, and the train, despite ongoing problems. 

Kasuwan Daji, once a bustling village, now lies in haunting silence. 

The aftermath of the Jan. 3 terror attack has stripped the community and market of their familiar rhythm, leaving behind charred homes and empty streets.

In the village market, located in the Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, North Central Nigeria, where voices once mingled in trade and laughter every Wednesday, only the wind now moves through its abandoned, burnt makeshift tents.  

When HumAngle visited the community in February, the village felt hollow, its people gone—either displaced, abducted, or buried. 

Amid the ruins, Sule Amadu, an elderly man in his late 60s, moved slowly through the debris of his burnt house, searching for anything that might have survived the flames. He was dressed in the same clothes he wore on the day of the attack. 

His quiet scavenging symbolised both survival and loss. 

“I was at the farm when I first heard the roar of their motorcycles heading towards our village,” he recounted. “Moments later, they began shooting sporadically. In panic, I exclaimed, ‘Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un’ [from God we are and to Him we shall return].”

Sule said the violence was relentless, as the terrorists aimed their bullets directly at people. 

“Those who tried to run were chased down by terrorists on motorcycles. Two of them rode together—one driving, the other firing at random. What was our crime?” he added, his voice carrying both grief and bewilderment. 

State authorities said no fewer than 30 people were killed in the attack. However, eyewitnesses who spoke to HumAngle say 57 people were buried that day, while 49 others were abducted, contradicting the official figures.

Sule narrowly escaped death. His younger brother was killed, and nine of his grandchildren and his son’s wife were abducted that day. 

“When the terrorists stormed in, I was trying to bag my millet. One of them chased me while shooting, but by God’s mercy, I escaped the bullets. I ran and jumped into the river to save my life,” he said. 

How the attack unfolded 

Sule was not alone in witnessing the chaos that engulfed Kasuwan Daji. HumAngle met another resident, Isa Mamman, who said he was among the first to notice the approaching attackers and raise the alarm in the community that day. 

He recalled how the attack began and how quickly it unfolded.

Isa was alone in a nearby bush around 4 p.m. when he noticed heavy dust rising in the distance and the sound of motorcycles approaching. He immediately ran towards the community to raise the alarm, where he met another villager who was also fleeing. Isa learned from him that the attackers had stormed in from the market axis.  

Within minutes, chaos engulfed Kasuwan Daji. 

Gunshots echoed across the village as people screamed and scattered. Terrorists on motorcycles fired indiscriminately, chasing down those who tried to escape. Shops and homes were set ablaze, and the once-thriving market became a scene of devastation. 

Just like Amadu, Isa narrowly survived, as he was shot at twice as he fled into the bush. From his hiding place, he watched helplessly as villagers were slaughtered and houses reduced to ashes.  

The violence stretched into the night as Isa remained hidden, fearing an ambush, while the community lay in ruins. 

“By dawn, when I came back to the community, lifeless bodies were scattered across the village, food storage facilities were destroyed, and every house and the market were burnt,” he said. That day, I escaped by God’s grace. I ran into the bush to hide, but I could still see what was happening. I saw our people being slaughtered like rams.”

Isa noted that, “There was no part of the community where we didn’t find dead bodies. Every house in Kasuwan Daji was set ablaze. Our market and storage facilities, where we kept food, were burnt down. We’ve all fled because we are terrified they might attack again.”

A new terror base

Field investigations conducted by HumAngle across the Kasuwan Daji, Wawa, and Babanna areas of the Borgu LGA of Niger State, in February show that terrorist factions are now entrenched in and around the Kainji Lake National Park axis. 

Terror groups such as Mahmudawa (Mahmuda faction), Lakurawa, elements of Ansaru, and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) led by Sadiku and Umar Taraba, as well as a newly emerged cell affiliated with Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, have turned the Kainji Forest Reserve into a safe haven.

These groups operate in interconnected networks rather than in isolation, exploiting local cover to conceal their movements. They conduct attacks in distant areas before retreating to established hideouts within the park’s surrounding communities.  

Kasuwan Daji is situated within this geographic corridor and has become a focal point due to its depth, accessibility, and lack of security presence. It sits about 14 kilometres from the Saint Mary’s Catholic School, where some schoolchildren were abducted in Nov. 2025.

The largely ungoverned terrain provides violent groups with mobility, supply routes, and escape paths across state and national boundaries. This strategic advantage has made the area increasingly attractive to extremist factions seeking to expand their operational reach.  

Recent incidents in Niger State and adjoining areas — including coordinated assaults on villages and high-profile abductions — have heightened concerns that extremist networks are embedding themselves beyond the country’s North East, their traditional stronghold. Their spillover into villages such as Kasuwan Daji, Agwara, Babanna, and Kaiama LGA of Kwara State underscores the emergence of a hybrid threat ecosystem in which ideology, criminal enterprise, and local grievances converge to reinforce instability.  

This evolving dynamic positions Kainji not only as a local security challenge but also as a critical node in the broader extremist landscape of the North Central region. 

Earlier attacks

The Kasuwan Daji attack of Jan. 3 was not the first. 

Months before, precisely in September 2025, residents told HumAngle that terrorists had entered the community and abducted several of its most significant figures. Among them was Usman Jatau, the village head, along with five others: Ibrahim Jatau (zone chair of Kambari), Anthony Yakubu Takura (youth leader), Mathew Ibrahim (head of vigilante), David (businessman), and Abu Agwara. 

To date, none of them has been heard from, a situation that has left families in anguish and the community without its leadership.  

After the abduction, Ajikali Jatau, the brother of the village chief and head of the Kasuwan Daji market, said the same attackers returned with greater brutality. 

“This time, their intent seemed clear—to wipe out the community. Villagers were slaughtered mercilessly, some tied with their hands behind their backs before being killed,” Ajikali told HumAngle. He believes the market was deliberately attacked because of its boom and constant business activities.

Ajikali told HumAngle how the market itself had its own history of struggle. 

“Before establishing Kasuwan Daji, we used to trade at Sokomba market every Wednesday. But after two young men from our tribe [Kambari] were killed and burnt there in broad daylight, we decided to stop going there. 

“One of the victims had tried to escape but was shot dead. The repeated harassment and targeting forced us to request that the market be moved somewhere else, but after several futile efforts, we created our own,” he revealed. 

For seven years, Kasuwan Daji market thrived, residents say, as they paid revenue to the local government—until it was reduced to ashes in the January attack.  

Displacement and human toll

More than 300,000 people have been displaced across 10 LGAs in Niger State, including residents of Kasuwan Daji, according to Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago. 

Hajara Shuaibu, a resident of Kasuwan Daji, is one of them. Her husband, Malam Shuaibu, a farmer, had made the village his home, cultivating produce with his family and planning to relocate there permanently. When the terrorists struck, Hajara’s world collapsed. Two of her younger brothers were kidnapped along with her husband’s other wife and daughter, forcing the family to flee to Papiri, a 14-kilometre drive from Borgu to Agwara LGA of Niger State, in search of refuge.

Before arriving at Papiri, Hajara said she and her children hid in the bush for three days, waiting for the violence to subside. 

“Our house was burnt to the ground, along with our belongings and food supplies. About two truckloads of grains and groundnuts that were harvested by my husband were destroyed in the fire, erasing our year-long hard work in a single night,” she said. 

Days later, her brother’s wife managed to escape captivity, only to return with devastating news: her husband [Hajara’s brother] and several others who had been abducted had been killed.  

The terror was felt even among the youngest. 

Suleiman, Hajara’s four-year-old grandson, was among the abducted persons from the attack but was later abandoned in the Gallah area of Agwara LGA, near the house of the village chief. 

His cries were said to be so persistent that the attackers eventually dropped him off before leaving with the other captives. 

Hajara said that the joy at seeing him [Suleiman] alive was quickly overshadowed by grief, as she remembered her slain brother and relatives still in captivity.   

‘We’re not thieves’

In the aftermath of the Jan. 3 attack, the Niger State Governor described Kasuwan Daji as a “market of thieves”, claiming that the community had become notorious for the sale of rustled cattle. He made the remarks during a condolence visit to the Emir of Borgu.  

Adding to the despair, he instructed the survivors to leave the Kasuwan Daji village altogether, even though no plans were announced for their relocation or resettlement, leaving families displaced, vulnerable, and uncertain of their future.

However, survivors of the attack strongly refuted the governor’s framing. 

Ajikali, brother of the village chief and leader of the now-destroyed market, told HumAngle, “We are not thieves. We are hard-working people, and the emirate is aware of us and our market. We are farmers—that is our business and what we are known for. We do not deal in the cattle business, so how can we be called thieves?”  

Sule also echoes this rejection of the governor’s claim: “I strongly disagree with the governor’s assertion that our market is ‘a market of thieves.’ We do not sell cows in Kasuwan Daji, yet he accuses us of selling rustled cows. He’s been misled by those around him.”

“The only thing I want is to have my grandchildren back. Even if they [terrorists] demand ransom, I have nothing to give except the clothes I am wearing. They burnt everything I owned—my food, my savings, and my animals were stolen,” he noted.

The Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Bello Maurice Magaji, while reaffirming the government’s commitment to tackling insecurity through intelligence gathering and grassroots collaboration, also defended the governor’s branding regarding activities at the market, stressing that it was based on verified intelligence.

“We are adopting an intelligence-gathering strategy to understand the patterns of these crimes and attacks so that we can tackle the situation head-on,” the commissioner told HumAngle. He noted that the government is also engaged in advocacy to help citizens recognise early warning signs that may not have been obvious in the past. 

“Also, I believe that whatever information was released by His Excellency is based on facts that were made available. Our government does not simply go out to brand or profile people based on unverifiable information. Our government is too serious to speculate or issue statements without evidence. Therefore, we stand firmly by what the Governor said about the market,” he stated.

Investigation by HumAngle revealed that there are two markets with the same name: Kasuwan Daji. One is situated in Niger State, North-Central, and another in the Kauran Namoda area of Zamfara State, in northwestern Nigeria. 

Further checks also indicate that Kasuwar Daji Market in Kaura Namoda local government area of Zamfara State, is a popular hub for cattle rustling. Terrorists, in January, stormed the market and rustled over 500 cattle. 

Aminu Garba, Chairman of the Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria in the state, told journalists that the operation was not an isolated incident noting that similar attacks have occurred in the past, with one recorded about four years ago. 

He explained that the terrorists infiltrate the market and nearby villages during the day, monitoring livestock transactions before striking. 

It is not impossible that the Niger State government is mistaking one Kasuwan Daji for the other. 

For Isa Mamman, another survivor of the attack in Niger State, the governor’s words add insult to injury. He explains that he and Amadu stayed behind in the community because they had nowhere else to go, even as their livestock was rustled and nearly fifty women and children were abducted. 

“It has been almost two months since the attack, yet nothing has been done. Neither the state governor nor the district head of Kabe has visited our community. Instead, we were insulted and labelled as thieves. We pay revenue to the government, yet they claim our market is illegal. Now, we have no food, no peace, and countless lives have been lost, and nothing has been done.”