At least nine worshipers have been reported killed in an attack by suspected armed bandits in Ba’are, in the Mashegu local government area in Niger state.
The state police commissioner, Bala Kuryas, told reporters Thursday that nine people were killed in the attack on Wednesday.
Kuryas said security has been strengthened in the affected community.
But area residents said 16 people were killed and 12 others injured in the attack.
The attackers invaded the mosque in the early hours of Wednesday as residents were conducting congregational dawn prayers, said one resident, who asked not to be identified for security reasons.
The source said the injured were taken to Kontagora General Hospital for treatment.
The latest attack on the mosque followed an earlier one in October in Maza-Kula, in the same council area, where 17 worshipers were reportedly killed.
In that previous attack, many people were also kidnapped and many others were injured.
In the state of Niger, armed bandits have killed hundreds of people in recent years and displaced thousands more.
The state government says that at least more than 151,380 people, mostly farmers, were displaced in the last two years in the state.
In the Mashegu local government area, where the last attack took place, more than 2,010 residents have been displaced in the last two years.