EXCLUSIVE: How Nigerian soldiers reportedly tortured civilians, burnt houses in terrorised Niger villages

On Friday, a report emerged that soldiers in the garrison town of Erena, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State had “burnt Dogo Gide houses in Chikuba.” However, fresh information showed that the burnt houses belonged to harmless rural residents who also claimed they were brutalised by the soldiers.

Dogo Gide is a notorious bandit terrorising rural communities in Niger, Kaduna and Zamfara states. His gang was responsible for bombing a military aircraft in August 2023 around Kwaki, a village neigbouring Chukuba where soldiers operated on Friday.

The operation left behind tales of terror in Makera, Kudodo and Sabon Gida in Chukuba — all in the Lakpma riverine axis, comprising more than 10 villages.

A video recorded after the incident shows women wailing and screaming in the local Gbagyi dialet.

Locals and youth leaders from the affected villages told PREMIUM TIMES that the incident will exacerbate the hunger crisis in the area.

At least 20 clay and wooden houses were burnt in Sabon Gida during the Friday invasion.

According to witness accounts, the soldiers were on a routine patrol when they disrupted a wedding ceremony in Makera and asked the locals to lead them to bandits’ enclaves.

‘Where are the bandits?’

“But we don’t know where they are,” a man who said he was tortured by the soldiers told a PREMIUM TIMES’ informant.

“They started beating everyone, including Dagbe Kudodo, the imam who was there to bless the marriage we were attending,” the man, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, explained.

According to him, the soldiers seized about 18 phones from the wedding attendants.

“It was after this they started asking us to lead them to the bandits,” he continued. “They first asked us in general and later on, started grilling us one after the other.”

Some wedding attendants like Ibrahim Shehu could not withstand the torture. “He fainted,” another source from Kudodo village told PREMIUM TIMES.

“Another person, Ibrahim Lakuta, lost three teeth during the incident,” the source continued, adding that someone from his village was marrying a lady from Makera that day.

The bride, along with her friends and family, were not spared either, PREMIUM TIMES gathered.

“The soldiers destroyed the boxes where the bride’s clothes and other things were kept,” the source from Kudodo said.

“They also blamed the villagers for paying ransom and levies to the bandits,” Babangida Kudodo, the youth leader of the Lakpma axis, said. “The villagers said the soldiers advised them to use their money to buy guns and face the bandits.”

Arson in Chukuba

After torturing the wedding attendants, the soldiers advanced to Chukuba, a village which is about four kilometres away from Paleli, where the Dogo Gide bandits group and his family, including his mother, live.

“The villagers fled before the soldiers arrived,” Ahmed Sarki, a youth leader from Chukuba told PREMIUM TIMES by phone. “Villagers of Makera managed to phone them and informed them that the soldiers were coming for them.”

A woman wailing after her house was burnt by soldiers / PREMIUM TIMES

At Chukuba, the soldiers reportedly shot indiscriminately before advancing to Sabon Gida in Chukuba where they razed more than 20 houses down.

“They burnt foodstuff like maize, yam and other,” Mr Sarki revealed after visiting the village to assess the situation.

The youth leader said the villagers, if not assisted, will suffer hunger.

“The bandits are not allowing them to farm as they should,” he lamented. “And the little they stored up have been razed by the soldiers.”

The Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Garba Abdullahi, a retired major-general, did not immediately respond to an enquiry sent to him about the Friday incident. Also his colleague, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Aminu Aliyu, did not respond to an enquiry.

The cost of living in local communities in Niger State

Residents of local communities, especially in LGAs like Shiroro, Rafi-Kagara, Wushishi and Mariga, continue to suffer violent attacks by terrorist groups.

Sometimes, soldiers who are supposed to offer protection also turn against them.

The Friday attack was not the first of its kind.

For instance, Kurebe village in the same axis has suffered more from military invasion than terrorists’ attacks. The Nigerian Air Force, while targeting terrorists, killed at least 14 villagers, including minors and a woman in the village.

The operations in April and August 2022 were targeted at the terrorists but killed civilians. Subsequently, many residents fled the village, but some returned home after facing hardship as displaced persons.

While the family of the victims cried for justice, the state government and the Air Force ignored them.

Grievous crimes such as these were the reasons the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is probing the Nigerian security forces.

A few months ago, the Bola Tinubu-led government appealed to the ICC to stop probing the military’s reported atrocities against civilians in conflict zones like Niger and Borno states. The government argued that the probe will weaken the morale of troops.

READ ALSO: Forced Labour, Child Marriage: Inside Boko Haram camps in Niger State

When briefed about the Friday incident, the Niger State Director for the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC), Shuaibu Awaisu, said the commission will carry out an independent investigation into the matter and seek justice for the victims.

According to him, the commission may consider taking legal action if necessary.

Onyemna Nwachukwu, the spokesperson for the defence headquarters, did not respond to calls placed to his line. At press time, he had not responded to an SMS sent to him about the incident.

Page Planned and Produced by: Esther Adaji