The attack began at about 2 p.m. on Friday, August 21, when gunmen moved through communities around Dekara, including Gidan-Zana and Kpenya, near Kainji Lake in western Nigeria and the country's border corridor with Benin.

Niger State police said armed attackers entered Gidan-Zana and Kpenya through Dekara and abducted an unspecified number of people during prayers. Security personnel were deployed afterward to establish the number missing and support operations aimed at locating the captives.

Residents said worshippers from Gidan-Zana, Masaka, Sabon Gida and neighboring villages routinely travel to central mosques for Friday prayers. The weekly gathering placed residents of several dispersed settlements in common locations when the attackers arrived.

A resident of the affected area told Diplomat News Network that families searched neighboring communities after the raid, trying to determine which relatives had escaped and which had been taken. The resident requested anonymity over security concerns, and the total number missing remained uncertain.

Local authorities initially estimated that between 60 and 80 people had been abducted. A video that emerged later appeared to show a larger group of women, children and elderly people sitting in a wooded area under the watch of armed men.

Some residents told Reuters that they recognized relatives in the footage and estimated the number of captives could approach 600. Reuters said it was unable to independently verify the location or date of the recording or establish how many people were shown.

Borgu Local Government Chairman Nasiru Abdullahi said four communities were affected and reported that homes had been burned, forcing residents to flee toward New Bussa or across the border into Benin. He also said about 30 people among those abducted had been killed and their bodies recovered and buried. Police had not independently confirmed the reported death toll.

Tinubu subsequently directed Nigeria's security agencies to begin an immediate rescue operation and establish a comprehensive count of the missing, bringing federal authorities directly into the response to the mass abduction.

The attack has renewed attention on the extensive forests surrounding Kainji Lake. Kainji Lake National Park covers more than 5,300 square kilometers across Niger and Kwara states, with its larger Borgu sector stretching across roughly 3,970 square kilometers of woodland and valleys west of the lake.

On August 6, 15 days before the latest attack, authorities announced the rescue of 308 hostages from the forest, including 163 people abducted in Kwara State and 145 from Niger State. Niger State authorities had earlier ordered settlements near the lake evacuated ahead of operations targeting armed groups.

The renewed kidnappings highlight the security challenges facing isolated communities around the Kainji corridor, where extensive forests, scattered settlements and proximity to an international border complicate efforts to locate armed groups and safely recover hostages.