Amnesty says gunmen have killed at least 15 people in northern Nigeria

Abuja, Nigeria — At least 15 people have been killed after gunmen attacked three communities in north-central Nigeria, Amnesty International said on Sunday.

The rights group said in a statement posted on X that the attacks occurred simultaneously on Saturday in Tashan Maje, Saduro and Runtua villages located in the Borgu region of Niger State.

“Gunmen attacked villages … firing at dozens of motorcycles in all directions. They looted shops,” Amnesty said.

“Terror attack” is another indication that “people are constantly living on the edge and feeling helpless”. No further details were given about the attackers.

Northern Nigeria is in the grip of a complex security crisis, with Islamic militants operating in the northeast and armed criminal gangs kidnapping people for ransom wreaking havoc in the northwest and north-central regions.

Africa’s most populous country is in the spotlight in Washington after US President Donald Trump said the country was not protecting Christians from alleged genocide. The Nigerian government rejected the accusation, and analysts say it simplifies a very complex situation in which people are targeted regardless of their faith.

In December, US forces launched airstrikes against Islamic State group-affiliated militants in northwestern Nigeria. Last month, Nigerian officials said they were sending troops to help train the West African nation’s military to fight extremism.

Last week, Nigerian police said 38 people were killed and others kidnapped in an attack in the northwestern state of Zamfara.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s military said on Sunday it had “recorded decisive operational success” against the militants in the past 24 hours.

Twenty suspects were arrested and a significant cache of weapons, ammunition, logistics supplies, stolen crude oil, illegal drugs and rusted cattle seized in what the army described as a “sustained effort to dismantle terror networks and criminal syndicates across the country,” the army said in a statement.