Gunmen kill 13 at pre-wedding party in northern Nigeria

AFP

AFP

30 March 2026 | 17:05

The assailants stormed a bachelor's party in the largely Christian Kagarko district on Sunday night, the sources said.

Gunmen kill 13 at pre-wedding party in northern Nigeria

Picture: Pixabay

KANO - Gunmen opened fire on a pre-wedding party in Nigeria's northern Kaduna state, killing at least 13 people, security and local sources told AFP on Monday, in the latest violence to hit a region plagued by kidnapping gangs.

The assailants stormed a bachelor's party in the largely Christian Kagarko district on Sunday night, the sources said.

The attack took place the same night as another incident in Jos, the capital of Nigeria's restive Plateau state, with nearly three dozen people killed in the attack and the ensuing mob retaliation.

"Bandits attacked a wedding ceremony in Kahir village... killing 13 individuals and injuring multiple wedding guests," a security report prepared for the United Nations seen by AFP said.

The attackers also kidnapped an unspecified number of people, according to the report, but a Nigerian military situation report seen by AFP, denied any kidnapping took place.

But the report confirmed the attack resulted in "heavy casualties with 13 persons confirmed killed, while number of wounded is yet to be ascertained".

A Christian priest in the region said 13 people were killed and several others injured in the attack on a "bachelor's" party.

Tabara Samuel Kato, the head of the Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU), the umbrella socio-cultural association of the ethnic groups in the region, gave a lower toll of 12.

A police spokesman confirmed the attack but did not provide a detailed toll.

"We are aware of the attack but we are awaiting details from the divisional police officer in the area," Mansur Hassan told AFP.

Kaduna is one several states in northwest and central Nigeria that have for years been terrorised by criminal gangs called bandits who carry out deadly raids on communities, kidnap for ransom and burn homes after looting them.

Kagarko has been one of the hot spots of bandit attacks in southern Kaduna state, where violence between Muslim Fulani herders and ethnic Christian farmers occurs over competition for land and water rights.

In January, bandits rounded up more than 170 worshippers from three churches during mass in a nearby district in Kaduna.

Authorities said 80 escaped and the rest were released following negotiations after three weeks in custody.

Kaduna state also faces a spreading jihadist threat, with groups in the northeast extending their reach westwards.

While the Nigerian army has been beefing up its deployment to the region for several years to combat the groups, the country has continued to see a rise in violence, which has drawn the attention of the United States.

Last month, the United States began deploying 200 troops to Nigeria to provide technical and training support to the country's soldiers in fighting jihadist groups.

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