by Olatunji Saliu
ABUJA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday ordered security and intelligence agencies to immediately launch a coordinated rescue operation for the victims of a recent mass abduction in the country's central state of Niger.
Between 60 and 80 people were kidnapped when a group of suspected terrorists attacked a central mosque during weekly prayers in Dekara, a community in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger, last Friday, multiple sources, including residents and a local government official, said on Tuesday.
In a statement, Tinubu expressed outrage over the abduction and confirmed the "killing of innocent citizens" by criminal elements in the state, vowing that those who carried out the cowardly attack on defenseless Nigerians will not go scot-free.
"I extend my deepest condolences to the families of those who were killed in this barbaric assault," the president said. "You are not alone. The entire nation shares your anguish."
Tinubu said he had directed the country's security chiefs to give him regular briefings on the progress of the rescue operation until all those abducted are accounted for.
While confirming the attack earlier on Saturday, the police said no casualties were reported, but dozens of people were abducted during what seemed like a coordinated attack in several communities on Friday afternoon.
Abdullahi Mohammed Nasiru, chairman of the Borgu Local Government Area, dismissed media reports that up to 600 people were abducted.
Nasiru told local media that at least 60 people were kidnapped in the attacks, while an unspecified number of residents sustained gunshot injuries as they attempted to escape from the assailants.
Some residents have also claimed that about 80 people were missing after the incident, according to local media.
Speaking to Xinhua earlier, Wasiu Abiodun, the spokesperson for the police in Niger, said the gunmen who carried out the attack surrounded the central mosque in Dekara and led the worshippers away through a bush path.
He said a rescue operation by security operatives was being hampered by a collapsed bridge linking the main town with the affected communities, as well as difficult terrain and poor road conditions in the area.
Niger State has witnessed repeated incidents of violent attacks in recent years, including banditry and kidnapping.
