60 killed in armed attacks in northwestern Nigeria

ABUJA: At least 60 people were killed in armed attacks in northwestern Nigeria.

According to local authorities, at least 20 people were killed in the town of Irina in Shiroro area of Niger State, while gunmen carried out deadly raids on several towns in Kebbi State, killing more than 40 others.

The armed attacks were recorded in northwestern Nigeria in early April 2026, with violence concentrated in Niger State’s Shiroro area and multiple towns in Kebbi State.

The killings are attributed to armed gunmen described by Nigerian security forces as "bandits" and Islamist‑linked militants.

Multiple reports show that at least 20 people were killed in the Shiroro area of Niger State, specifically in the villages of Bagna and Erena (also spelled or transliterated as “Irina”).

A situation report citing local humanitarian sources, including a health facility and a community‑organizing group, recorded 20 deaths in Erena. The Niger State police acknowledged the attack, but put the official death toll at three, saying gunmen invaded villages and a military camp and killed two local vigilantes and a driver.

In neighbouring Kebbi State, local clergy and humanitarian groups reported that more than 40 people were killed in coordinated raids on several villages, with some leaders explicitly putting the death toll at around 40.

The attacks were carried out by gunmen described as indiscriminate, targeting both Christians and Muslims, burning houses, churches, livestock, and food stores, and forcing at least 500 people to flee into churches and schools in Yauri town.

Police blamed a local militant‑linked group known as Mahmuda for the Kebbi attacks.

The attacks are set against a broader pattern of worsening insecurity in northwestern Nigeria, where bandit and militant groups frequently target civilians, use motorbikes for fast raids, and increasingly coordinate across state lines.