By Gloria Ikibah
Communities in Niger State’s Borgu and Agwara areas are facing an alarming surge in bandit attacks, prompting their representative in the House of Representatives, Jafaru Mohammed Ali, to demand immediate and decisive intervention from the Federal Government.
Rep. Ali, who recently survived an attack on his own convoy, warned that the situation has deteriorated to a level that threatens the safety and stability of the entire constituency, he also appealed directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who holds the traditional title of Jagaban Borgu, to take strong, targeted measures against the armed groups terrorising the Borgu Emirate. 
Addressing journalists, the lawmaker described a string of distressing incidents, including the abduction of more than 300 pupils and teachers from St. Mary Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area. The kidnappings, he said, are part of a broader pattern of unchecked violence affecting schools, roads and rural settlements.
During the House’s resumed special plenary on national security, Ali highlighted the plight of several prominent individuals who remain in captivity, among them a former chairman of Niger State SUBEB, a state electoral commissioner, and numerous travellers seized along the Mokwa–New Bussa highway.
He warned that without swift and coordinated action, communities across Borgu and Agwara risk further devastation as bandits tighten their grip on the region.
He said: “With great dismay, on 21st of November, 2025, gunmen attacked St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State and kidnapped three hundred and three (303) students, twelve (12) teachers and a notable figure, Sarkin Samarin Agwara.Fifty (50) out of the three hundred and three students escaped and are reunited with their parents.
“Also on 4th November, 2025, during my routine condolence visit in my constituency, I was attacked by armed gunmen in their hundreds which resulted in loss of lives and injuries to many innocent personnel at Agwara to Babanna in Borgu Local Government, Niger State”.
Rep. Ali expressed gratitude to the Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services and Nigerian Army for their swift intervention, including the deployment of a helicopter that helped evacuate him and his entourage after they were ambushed.
He recounted the toll of recent violence in his constituency, noting that three members of one family were killed on 2 November 2025 in Gidan Guga, a community on the border of Agwara and Borgu. Their father survived the attack but sustained serious injuries and is currently receiving treatment at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto.
The lawmaker also described the scale of displacement sweeping through the area, as he said several communities, including Boyiya and Bakin Bara have been forced to flee, while others such as Aika, Kuka, Dekara, Kerenji, Saminaka and Audu Fari are now under the control of bandit groups, leaving residents with nowhere safe to turn.
He said: “The bandits are currently using the National Park as their harbour and base from where they attack Agwara, Borgu in Niger State, Bagudo and Shanga in Kebbi State, Kaiama/Baruten in Kwara State and some neighbouring communities in Benin Republic.
“Most of the bandits are foreigners who cannot even speak Nigerian languages.Some of them migrated from Zamfara and Katsina using Ibbi National Park as their link to enter Kaiama National Park and Kainji National Park as their destination.
“About a month ago, the bandits had laid ambush and bombed four personnel between Babanna and Lumma, while the last two months witnessed recurring killings, kidnappings and displacement in the entire Federal Constituency, including the public one in the police station at Lumma where a leader of the Fulani clan was assassinated in broad daylight because of his failure to compromise.
“The situation in the entire Federal Constituency is horrible and will continue to worsen if urgent action is not taken to save the constituency from being taken over by bandits in the next few months”.
The lawmaker cautioned that the growing vulnerability of his constituents is forcing many to give in to the demands of bandit groups simply to stay alive.
He described a troubling pattern in which residents, overwhelmed by fear of attacks or reprisals, feel they have little choice but to cooperate with their attackers.
He also urged the Federal Government to take decisive control of Kainji National Park, which he said has effectively become a refuge for armed groups launching assaults on communities in Niger, Kebbi and Kwara States.
