By Our Reporter, With Agency Reports
THE NIGERIAN government has launched a combined military and humanitarian response following a devastating overnight terrorist attack on Woro Village in Kwara State that officials say killed between 75 and 170 people, marking one of the deadliest assaults in the region this year.
President Bola Tinubu, condemning the Tuesday night attack as “cowardly and barbaric,” has deployed an army battalion to the Kaiama district under “Operation Savannah Shield.”
Concurrently, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has ordered the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to immediately mobilise relief materials and begin enumerating affected families.
The attack, which residents and officials attribute to suspected jihadist fighters, has heightened fears that violence from Nigeria’s northern insurgency is spreading southward along the Niger-Kwara axis toward the Kainji forest – an area security analysts warn could become a new stronghold for armed groups.
According to statements from President Tinubu and Governor AbdulRazaq, the assailants targeted villagers who had rejected attempts to impose extremist rule.
Tinubu commended the community, predominantly Muslim, for refusing “to be conscripted into a belief that promotes violence over peace.”
Residents told Reuters the attackers were jihadists who had long preached in the area, urging locals to abandon the Nigerian state and adopt Sharia rule. When the community refused, the militants opened fire.
The Emir of Kaiama, Alhaji Muazu Omar, identified the attackers as followers of a group known as “Mahmuda,” which he said preached a strange ideology.
“What happened in Woro was unfortunate, and we lost many people,” the Emir stated after a visit from the governor, praising the government’s swift response.
Governor AbdulRazaq, who cut short a trip to visit the community on Wednesday night, described the incident as a “pure massacre.” He was accompanied by the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Salihu Yakubu-Danladi, security commanders, and senior officials.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” the governor said at the Emir’s palace. “May Allah grant the victims Al-jannah Firdaus.” He announced that the presidential approval for troop deployment had been secured, assuring residents of enhanced security.
“In the next one month, the area will be flooded with soldiers, and we are confident that the results will be positive, by the grace of God,” AbdulRazaq said, adding that security challenges in Kwara South had been largely subdued and similar efforts would focus on the Kaiama axis.
The violence highlights the persistent threat posed by groups like the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in border regions.
The attack also comes amid international scrutiny of Nigeria’s security measures, following past accusations from U.S. officials regarding the protection of Christians. The Nigerian government maintains it is cooperating with international partners and denies any systematic persecution.
Local lawmaker, Saidu Baba Ahmed, reported that approximately 38 houses were destroyed in Woro. The conflicting death tolls – 75 according to the governor’s briefing and 170 from the presidency – underscore the chaos of the initial assessment.
In a separate attack the same day in northern Katsina state, gunmen killed at least 21 people in a house-to-house shooting, indicating a broad wave of violence across the north.
As soldiers move into position to secure the remote communities, state emergency teams are beginning the work of supporting the survivors, aiming to stem both the immediate threat and the humanitarian crisis left in the wake of the massacre.
