Nigeria, March 12 -- Minutes before residents of Jikamshi village gathered to break their Ramadan fast on Tuesday evening, a man who had just returned home from Lagos sat quietly at the entrance of the town.

Moments later, bandits on motorcycles stormed the community, firing as they advanced along the main road. Terrified residents scattered in every direction.

By the time the gunmen retreated shortly after iftar, three people lay dead, 14 others were injured, and several shops were looted in an assault that lasted more than an hour.

Jikamshi, a farming settlement in Musawa Local Government Area near the border with Matazu LGA, had rarely experienced violence on this scale. The raid has renewed fears about the security of rural communi...