The head of Woro community in Kwara State, Umar Bio Salihu, has revealed that armed bandits operated in the area for nearly 10 hours before security forces arrived, leaving dozens dead and several villages destroyed.
Speaking on ARISE Television on Thursday, Salihu said the attack began around 5pm, but soldiers only arrived at about 3am the following day. “I called after 5pm, but they did not come until about 3am. The military did not engage the bandits; by then, the attackers had already left,” he stated.
Salihu added that there was no air support during the assault and that the community had been left vulnerable after soldiers previously stationed there were withdrawn following an earlier attack. “Initially, we had about 15 soldiers here.
Grassroots Parrot reports that they were attacked three to five months ago and evacuated. Since then, there’s been no security presence,” he said.
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He identified the attackers as members of the Mamuda terrorist group, claiming the assault was in retaliation for the community’s rejection of their ideology. Salihu dismissed claims of religious motivations, noting that most victims were Muslims.
The village head also highlighted that he had previously reported a threat letter from the attackers to security agencies, which he believes may have been mishandled, escalating the attack.
Salihu confirmed that at least 75 people have been buried, with the death toll expected to rise as bodies are recovered. Several villages, including his own home, were razed during the assault.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has since visited the affected communities and ordered the deployment of additional security forces. President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate deployment of an Army battalion to restore security under a new counter-offensive operation.
The Kwara killings are part of a growing wave of attacks across north-central and northwest Nigeria, with hundreds killed or abducted in recent weeks in Niger, Kaduna, Kwara, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states, highlighting mounting pressure on the federal government’s security strategy.