NSCIA Demands Permanent Security Response After Borgu Mosque Attack
Islamic council seeks urgent rescue of captives, intelligence-led operations and stronger protection for vulnerable communities after worshippers were abducted during Jumu’at prayers
By Abdullahi Yusuf
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has demanded an urgent and sustained security response to the attack on communities in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, where worshippers were abducted during Jumu’at prayers.
The Council, under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, called on the Federal Government to move beyond periodic rescue operations towards a permanent security architecture capable of preventing further attacks in vulnerable communities.
The attacks, which occurred on Friday, August 21, affected communities including Gidan-Zana, Kpenya, Giyan Gbasu and Dekara in Borgu LGA.
The NSCIA said the attack on Dekara was particularly disturbing because the assailants entered a mosque while Muslims were observing Jumu’at prayers and abducted worshippers.
The Council said local officials and residents reported that more than 60 people were taken captive and about 30 people killed, with others injured.
It described the invasion of a mosque during Friday prayers as an attack on both innocent Nigerians and the sanctity of worship, saying Muslims should be able to practise their faith without fear.
The Council also rejected attempts to frame insecurity in Nigeria as affecting only one religious community, saying the attack on Muslim worshippers demonstrated the need for a collective national response to terrorism and violent crime.
It questioned how long communities could continue to face attacks and abductions while terrorists operated with such audacity, calling for decisive action to protect civilians and bring perpetrators to justice.
The NSCIA said the latest violence was particularly troubling because communities in the area had reportedly suffered repeated attacks, with previous raids forcing residents to abandon their homes and seek refuge elsewhere in Niger and Kwara states and across the border in the Republic of Benin.
The Council also linked the latest attack to the wider security situation around the Kainji Lake National Park and the extensive forest corridors it said terrorists had exploited as operational and hostage-holding bases.
The Council also noted that Nigerian security forces had rescued 308 abducted persons from the Kainji Lake National Park forest on August 5, including 163 people abducted from Woro in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State and 145 from communities in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
The NSCIA said the rescue operation demonstrated what could be achieved when intelligence, resources, coordination and political will were brought together.
But it said the renewed attacks raised questions about whether the gains from such operations could be sustained if vulnerable communities remained exposed.
The Council therefore called on the Federal Government to develop a permanent, intelligence-driven and community-centred security architecture for communities around Niger, Kwara and adjoining border areas.
It demanded the immediate mobilisation of resources to locate and rescue everyone still held captive following the August 21 attack, describing their safe recovery as an urgent national priority.
The NSCIA also called for intensified aerial surveillance, intelligence gathering, early-warning systems and coordinated ground operations in forests and other difficult terrain being used as hideouts and hostage-holding locations.
It urged the government to ensure that security personnel deployed to vulnerable communities were adequately equipped and supported with the operational and logistical resources required to protect civilians.
The Council further called for closer cooperation between security agencies, state governments, traditional rulers, religious leaders and local communities, while urging that residents who provide actionable intelligence should be protected.
It also advocated the regulation and lawful integration of community vigilante structures into wider early-warning and community-protection systems.
The NSCIA called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Security Council, the Ministries of Defence and Interior and relevant security agencies to treat the Borgu attacks as a national emergency requiring coordinated intervention.
The Council expressed condolences to families of those killed and prayed for the recovery of the injured, while urging families whose relatives remain in captivity not to lose hope.
It also called on Muslims in Niger State and across the country to remain steadfast and not allow terrorism to weaken their faith or determination.
The Council said Nigerians had a right to demand security, justice and accountability from institutions responsible for protecting them.
The latest attack has again placed the security of communities around the Kainji Lake axis under scrutiny, coming shortly after the rescue of hundreds of abductees from the Kainji Lake National Park forest. The government’s challenge now is not only to rescue those still in captivity, but to prevent vulnerable communities from repeatedly becoming targets.
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