The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) has strongly condemned the recent terrorist attack on Kpenya Mosque and surrounding communities in Dekara District, Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, and demanded the immediate and safe release of all abducted residents and worshippers.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday and signed by the Forum’s Chairman, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua (Katsina Central), the senators described the assault as a barbaric and cowardly attack on innocent worshippers and defenceless rural residents.
The attack occurred on Friday, August 21/22, 2026, during Jumat prayers. Armed gunmen invaded Kpenya Mosque and the villages of Gidan-Zana and Kpenya, abducting scores of people, including women, children, and the elderly. Some residents fled into nearby forests to escape. Reports indicate that attackers also planted landmines in the area and carried out further abductions, allegedly to use victims as bargaining chips. Local accounts have put the number of those killed at around 30 and those abducted in the scores to hundreds, though exact figures remain unconfirmed.
Senator Yar’Adua expressed the Forum’s deep shock and sadness over the incident. He extended condolences to the Government and people of Niger State, particularly the families of those killed and abducted, and prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased.
“This barbaric act has left us deeply shocked and saddened. Targeting innocent worshippers in a mosque and defenceless rural communities is not only cowardly but an attack on our shared humanity and faith,” the statement said.
The Northern Senators Forum called on the Armed Forces of Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), and all relevant security agencies to intensify ongoing rescue operations and ensure the immediate and safe release of every abducted person, with particular priority given to the safety of the victims.
The Forum further urged the Federal Government to deploy additional security personnel to the affected communities and to comprehensively review the security architecture in Niger State and the wider North-Central region to prevent a recurrence of such attacks.
The senators reaffirmed their solidarity with the people of Borgu and the entire Niger State, stressing that the protection of lives and property remains a fundamental responsibility of the state.