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Chibok Nightmare Returns in Nigeria as Gunmen Storm a School in Niger State

Staff Reporter — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 03:36:01 +0000

Niger (KAAB TV) – Nigeria has suffered one of its most devastating school abductions in recent years after more than 300 pupils and teachers were seized from a school in Niger State.

At least 315 people were taken, a figure revised upwards after dozens of children who tried to escape were also captured.

Parents who rushed to the school on Friday spoke of scenes of panic and confusion, with many still uncertain whether their children are among the missing.

The attack comes amid a dangerous surge in mass kidnappings across the country.

Only days earlier, 25 schoolgirls were abducted from a boarding school in Kebbi State.

In Kwara State, 38 people were kidnapped.

In the past week alone, more than 370 people have gone missing.

This recent raid on a school painfully evokes memories of 2014 Chibok abductions, long regarded as the darkest chapter in Nigeria’s struggle against insurgency.

The Niger State government stated that the school had ignored an order to suspend boarding operations following credible intelligence of an imminent attack.

Local leaders, however, insist no official warning was ever issued.

Parents are only praying that their children can be brought home safely.

The federal government has ordered nearly 50 national colleges to close, and several states have followed suit.

The widespread closures highlight the severity of the threat but have left thousands of learners displaced.

President Bola Tinubu recently responded to the allegations made by the United States President Donald Trump, who claimed that there were religious persecutions in Nigeria.

President Tinubu said all religions in the country are victims of ongoing abductions and attacks.

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Airstrike Kills At Least 30 Near Market in Western Niger, Sources Say

Staff Reporter — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 18:48:40 +0000

Niger (KAAB TV) – At least 30 people died in an airstrike in Niger, highlighting ongoing violence and challenges against Islamist militants.

The strike took place on Monday near a weekly market in the town of Injar in the Tillabery region that borders Burkina Faso and Mali, the sources said. The area is a hub of activity by groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda that all three military-run governments have struggled to combat.

A witness and resident of the area said the death toll was 37, while a security source said it was “more than 30.”

The witness spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The security source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.

“The bomb fell on the outskirts of the market. It was the fragments that made impacts, hitting people who were close by,” said a medical source who was involved in treating some of the wounded at a local health facility.

The government has not issued a statement about the incident. A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The security source said local authorities had tried to close the weekly market on the suspicion that militant groups were getting supplies there, but residents ignored the order.

Air and ground operations by security forces have increased since military officers led by General Abdourahamane Tiani toppled President Mohamed Bazoum in a coup in 2023, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a U.S. crisis-monitoring group.

Islamic State-affiliated militants have stepped up attacks in western Niger this year, killing more than 127 people in five separate strikes since March, highlighting the failure of authorities to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report earlier this month.

Military killings of civilians in Niger are much less common than in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, according to ACLED.

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A deadline arrives for Niger’s junta to reinstate the president

admin — Sun, 06 Aug 2023 18:24:32 +0000

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The deadline arrived Sunday for Niger’s military junta to reinstate the country’s ousted president, but the West Africa regional bloc that has threatened a military intervention faces prominent appeals to pursue more peaceful means. In the capital, coup leaders appeared at a stadium rally where a chicken decorated in the colors of former colonizer France was beheaded, to cheers.

Neighboring Nigeria’s Senate has pushed back against the plan by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, urging Nigeria’s president, the bloc’s current chair, on Saturday to explore options other than the use of force. ECOWAS can still move ahead, as final decisions are made by consensus by member states, but the warning on the eve of the deadline raised questions about the intervention’s fate.

The July 26 coup, in which mutinous soldiers installed Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani as head of state, adds another layer of complexity to West Africa’s Sahel region that’s struggling with military takeovers, spreading Islamic extremism and a shift by some states toward Russia and its proxy, the Wagner mercenary group.

Niger’s ousted President Mohamed Bazoum said he is held “hostage” by the mutinous soldiers. An ECOWAS delegation was unable to meet with Tchiani, who analysts have asserted led the coup to avoid being fired. Now the junta has reached out to Wagner for assistance while severing security ties with former colonizer France.

Algeria and Chad, non-ECOWAS neighbors with strong militaries in the region, have said they oppose the use of force or won’t intervene militarily, and neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso — both run by juntas — have said an intervention would be a “declaration of war” against them, too.

It was not immediately clear on Sunday what ECOWAS will do next. Thousands of people at Sunday’s rally in Niger’s capital, Niamey, cheered the coup leaders’ appearance and expressed defiance against both the ECOWAS threat and France’s long presence in the region. Some waved Russian flags.

“We will all stand and fight as one people,” declared one of the junta leaders, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba. “We are asking you to stay mobilized.”

Hours before Sunday’s deadline, hundreds of youth joined security forces in the darkened streets in the capital to stand guard at a dozen roundabouts until morning, checking cars for weapons and heeding the junta’s call to watch out for foreign intervention and spies.

“I’m here to support the military. We are against (the regional bloc). We will fight to the end. We do not agree with what France is doing against us. We are done with colonization,” said Ibrahim Nudirio, one of the residents on patrol.

Some passing cars honked in support. Some people called for solidarity among African nations.

ECOWAS shouldn’t have given the junta a one-week deadline to reinstate Bazoum but rather only up to 48 hours, said Peter Pham, former U.S. special envoy for West Africa’s Sahel region and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. “Now it’s dragged out, which gives the junta time to entrench itself,” he said.

The most favorable scenario for an intervention would be a force coming in with the help of those on the inside, he said.

The coup is a major blow to the United States and allies who saw Niger as the last major counterterrorism partner in the Sahel, a vast area south of the Sahara Desert where jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have been expanding their range and beginning to threaten coastal states like Benin, Ghana and Togo.

The United States, France and European countries have poured hundreds of millions of dollars of military assistance into Niger. France has 1,500 soldiers in the country, though their fate is now in question. The U.S. has 1,100 military personnel also in Niger where they operate an important drone base in the city of Agadez.

While Niger’s coup leaders have claimed they acted because of growing insecurity, conflict incidents decreased by nearly 40% in the country compared to the previous six-month period, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project. That’s in contrast to surging attacks in Mali, which has kicked out French forces and partnered with Wagner, and Burkina Faso, which has gotten rid of French forces as well.

Some in Niger quietly expressed concerns about the coup. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, said many people want Bazoum resinstated but were afraid to say so for fear of retaliation.

“At present, the population is living in total psychosis,” the official said.

The uncertainty in Niger is worsening daily life for some 25 million people in one of the world’s poorest countries. Food prices are rising after ECOWAS imposed economic and travel sanctions following the coup. Nigeria, which supplies up to 90% of the electricity in Niger, has cut off some of the supply.

Humanitarian groups in Niger have warned of “devastating effects” on the lives of over 4.4 million people needing aid.

Some struggling residents said military intervention is not the answer.

“Just to eat is a problem for us. So if there is a war, that won’t fix anything,” said Mohamed Noali, a Niamey resident patrolling the streets.

___
(Source: Associated Press)

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Russia’s Wagner boss welcomes Niger coup

admin — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 16:58:50 +0000

LONDON (KAAB TV) – Wagner mercenary boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has welcomed the military coup in Niger, according to an unverified audio message, the BBC reported.

Niger has been a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in West Africa. Military officers announced to have overthrown the government of President Mohamed Bazoum and detained him.

The US and France, the former colonial power, both have military bases in the uranium-rich country.

The unverified voice message from Mr Prigozhin appeared on a Telegram app channel associated with the group, saying the takeover was long overdue.

According to the Reuters news agency, the speaker had the same distinctive intonation and turn of phrase in Russian as the Wagner boss.

“What happened in Niger is nothing more than the struggle of the people of Niger against colonisers, who tried to impose their own rules of life,” AFP news agency quotes him as saying.

“In order to maintain their actual slave system in the territories of these states, they deploy various foreign missions, which number tens of thousands of soldiers.”

He went on to hail the “effectiveness” of Wagner, explaining a thousand of its fighters “are able to restore order and destroy terrorists, preventing them from harming the civilian population”, AFP reports.

The release of voice message coincided with the publication on Telegram of photographs showing Mr Prigozhin in St Petersburg at the Africa-Russia summit.

He was seen shaking hands with Ambassador Freddy Mapouka, a senior official in the Central African Republic (CAR).

It is the first confirmed sighting of Mr Prigozhin in Russia since Wagner’s failed mutiny in June.

Wagner has a security contract in CAR and through its network of companies allegedly trades there in conflict minerals and timber, as well as making beer and vodka.

The shadowy mercenary group is also in Mali, where it is believed to have about 1,000 soldiers and where its troops have been accused of carrying out atrocities.

Their deployment in December 2021 had followed a breakdown in diplomatic relations between Mali’s military regime and France, prompting the former colonial power to withdraw its counter-terror troops.

According to Reuters, the Wagner boss was heard in a video released earlier this month telling his men, now exiled to Belarus, that they should gather their strength for a “new journey to Africa”.

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Niger’s president Bazoum ‘detained by guards’ in coup attempt

admin — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 23:00:41 +0000

NAIROBI (KAAB TV) – An attempted coup unfolded in Niger, as members of the presidential guard made a move against President Mohamed Bazoum, prompting a stern warning from the presidency that the army was prepared to take action against them if they did not stand down.

It started on Wednesday morning after members of the presidential guards surrounded the palace and reportedly held the president and his family.

The official Twitter account of the presidency revealed that the presidential guards were engaged in what was described as an “anti-Republican demonstration” and desperately sought the support of other security forces, albeit unsuccessfully.

News agencies reported that the guards had allegedly taken President Bazoum hostage inside the presidential palace in the capital city, Niamey.

However, the presidency assured the public that President Bazoum and his family were safe.

Eyewitnesses said the presidential palace, along with adjacent ministries, was surrounded and blocked off by military vehicles.

Presidential staff within the palace found themselves unable to access their offices, further highlighting the gravity of the situation.

Le Président de la République et sa famille se portent bien.
L’ Armée et la Garde Nationale sont prêtes à attaquer les éléments de la GP impliqués dans ce mouvement d’humeur s’ils ne reviennent pas à de meilleurs sentiments.

— Présidence du Niger (@PresidenceNiger) July 26, 2023

Meanwhile supporters of President Bazoum attempted to approach the presidential complex to demonstrate their allegiance. However, their efforts were met with resistance as members of the Presidential Guard fired warning shots, dispersing the crowd.

In the ensuing chaos, one individual sustained injuries, although it remained unclear if the injury resulted from a bullet or falling amid the commotion.

The African Union responded to condemn the attempted coup.

In an official statement, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chairperson of the African Union Commission, expressed strong condemnation, characterizing the act as a betrayal of their republican duty by members of the military.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc consisting of 15 nations, also weighed in on the situation.

ECOWAS called for President Bazoum’s immediate and unconditional release, emphasizing that all those involved in the coup attempt would be held accountable for his safety.

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