Terrorists killed 37 residents and abducted about 150 others during a nighttime raid on Dutsin Dan Ajiya village in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State on Thursday.
The attackers arrived on motorcycles shortly after 5 p.m. and immediately blocked every entry and exit road.
They then stormed the community and opened fire on fleeing residents while they set houses ablaze.
The assault continued without pause until around 3:30 a.m. Friday, trapping villagers inside their homes for nearly 10 hours.
Survivors described scenes of pure horror.
Malam Yakubu Dan Ajiya, who escaped by hiding in the bush, told reporters the terrorists surrounded the entire village before they began shooting sporadically and attacking houses nonstop.
“They killed about 30 people and abducted many others, taking them into the forest,” he said, with later reports confirming the death toll at 37 and abductions near 150.
Videos that spread rapidly on social media showed rows of bodies wrapped in white cloths ready for mass burial, sparking immediate public fury.
This massacre struck just one day after Defence Minister Major General Christopher Musa (rtd) visited Zamfara to launch 25 new armoured vehicles, drones and surveillance gear supplied by Governor Dauda Lawal.
Residents had alerted security forces during the attack but received no immediate help.
Meanwhile, Nigerians flooded X with sharp criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
One user wrote, “Something drastic needs to be done to curb these mass extermination of villages… Tinubu’s incompetence is killing us.”
Another added, “The government does not care! All they care about is staying in power to continue stealing!”
The raid forms part of an unrelenting wave of terrorist violence across Nigeria’s northwest.
Authorities have yet to issue an official statement or confirm rescue efforts for the abducted residents as fear grips surrounding communities.
