Niger mosque attacks: Survivors suffering life-threatening injuries – Daily Trust

Survivors of the August 21 terrorist attacks on four mosques in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State are battling life-threatening injuries, with one of them reportedly dying while receiving treatment.

The attacks, which occurred during Juma’at prayers, also left nearly 30 worshippers dead, while more than 60 others were abducted, according to the Chairman of Borgu LGA, Mohammed Nasir Abdullahi.

Daily Trust reported that the terrorists simultaneously invaded Juma’at mosques in Dekara, Kpenya, Gbezhin and Sabon-Gida in the Dekara District of the local government and whisked away dozens of worshippers.

Six days after the attacks, the victims remain in captivity, while their families said the terrorists had yet to establish direct communication with them, apart from a video earlier released by the abductors.

The council chairman, who spoke with Daily Trust on Monday, said troops had moved into the affected areas and that the bodies of some of those killed had been recovered and buried.

A resident of the area, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told Daily Trust on Wednesday that some of those found alive during the evacuation of the bodies were in critical condition.

He said many of the victims were not shot but were brutally slaughtered by their captors, leaving some survivors with severe injuries to their throats.

“Truth be told, even those who were still breathing when soldiers went in to evacuate the dead bodies sustained life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospital.

“Most of those killed were not killed by guns; they were slaughtered. Even those currently at the hospital have their throats slit. So, you can see that surviving is by the grace of Allah.

“In fact, one of them had died while receiving treatment,” the resident said.

Borgu attacks expose error in labelling insecurity as anti-Christian – NSCIA

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) said the terrorists’ deliberate invasion of the mosques and abduction of worshippers constituted a grave assault on innocent Nigerians and the sanctity of worship.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Abbas Jimoh, the council said the attacks also exposed what it described as a factual error in portraying insecurity in parts of the country as a genocide against Christians, warning that such a narrative could undermine collective efforts to tackle terrorism.

It said the “horrendous savagery” against Muslims observing Jumu’ah prayers demonstrated that terrorists were attacking Nigerians irrespective of their religious identity.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on Tuesday directed the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, and all relevant security and intelligence agencies to launch a coordinated rescue operation for the victims still in captivity.