Communities in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State have released a list containing the names of 547 people they said were abducted during attacks on worshippers and surrounding settlements in the Dekara District, challenging the lower figure previously given by the state government.
The community disclosure has intensified questions over the actual scale of the August 21 abduction, after Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago said 33 worshippers were taken from a mosque, with an additional 30 abducted from a nearby market, bringing the total to 63.
Bago made the disclosure while receiving former governor Abubakar Sani Bello, who visited the Government House to commiserate with the state over the deaths of 37 artisanal miners in Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps custody.
The governor described reports that more than 500 people had been abducted as ‘social media hype’ and said residents should not be misled.
However, a document signed by Zubairu Umar, youth president of Dekara District, listed 547 people from five communities and stated that their whereabouts remained unknown.
The breakdown showed 341 people allegedly abducted from Gbenji, 104 from Giagbasso, 88 from Dekara, nine from Kpenya and five from Gbabara.
The figures were also reported by AFP, which said the document listed the 547 names individually and described it as a comprehensive community count.
The incident occurred on August 21 when gunmen attacked communities in the Dekara District during Friday prayers. The affected areas included Dekara, Kpenya, Giagbasso, Gbenji and Gbebara.
Among those listed as abducted from Dekara were Adamu Attahiru, chief imam of Dekara, as well as local community leaders including Abubakar Lafiya, village head of Ka’ada, and Mamuda Lafiya, Magaji of Dekara.
The community document also contains the names of women and children, indicating that the reported abductions affected entire families rather than only worshippers at the mosques.
The list from Giagbasso includes Attahiru Zakari, Sarkin Gari, Yakubu, Magajin Gari, and Mohammed, an imam, alongside scores of other residents.
Gbenji recorded the largest number on the community list, with 341 names.
The disclosure contradicts an earlier position attributed to Mohammed Nasir Abdullahi, chairman of Borgu Local Government Area, who reportedly said slightly more than 60 people were abducted.
The controversy over the number of victims comes as families continue to seek information about their relatives.
According to AFP, the identities were published after local residents protested against the governor’s account of the incident. The agency also reported that a video circulating online appeared to show hundreds of people in a forest, although the circumstances surrounding the footage could not independently be established.
The attack occurred in an area near Nigeria’s border with Benin that has experienced increasing security challenges involving armed groups and criminal gangs.
The community’s list has therefore shifted attention from the disputed number of victims to the individual identities of those allegedly taken, with families demanding information on their whereabouts and condition.
The names published by the community are now being used by residents as a record of those they say remain missing more than a month after the attack.