Nearly 200 individuals have lost their lives in separate assaults carried out by armed individuals in remote villages situated in central and northern Nigeria, as confirmed by a local legislator, residents, and law enforcement personnel on Wednesday. Security forces are currently engaged in search and rescue operations for survivors while pursuing the attackers.
In central Kwara state, a brutal attack on the Woro community occurred on Tuesday, resulting in the tragic death of approximately 170 individuals, according to Saidu Baba Ahmed, the legislator representing the area. This incident marks the most deadly assault witnessed in the region this year, which shares borders with Niger state and has become a frequent target for armed assailants who conduct raids, abduct residents, and plunder livestock.
Ahmed reported that the gunmen herded the residents, tied their hands, and mercilessly executed them. He provided Reuters with images of deceased individuals, although the agency has not yet been able to verify them. Amid the attack, villagers escaped into the surrounding bushland while the assailants set homes and shops ablaze.
While the police confirmed that “scores were killed,” they did not disclose a specific figure. Ahmed, who is currently present in the village alongside military personnel, mentioned that they are in the process of identifying deceased individuals and conducting thorough searches in the neighboring areas to locate any additional victims. As of Wednesday morning, several individuals remain unaccounted for.
According to residents, during a sermon, the attackers demanded that locals renounce their allegiance to the Nigerian state and adhere to Sharia Islamic law. When the villagers resisted, the militants resorted to gunfire.
In response to the distressing events, Kwara police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi stated that a joint police and military operation has been mobilized in the region for search and rescue purposes, although specific casualty details were not disclosed.
The Red Cross secretary in Kwara state, Ayodeji Emmanuel Babaomo, informed The Associated Press that a large group of assailants attacked, resulting in numerous casualties. However, due to the remote location of the area, exact figures are not yet available. The governor of Kwara, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, condemned the violence as a cowardly act by terrorist elements expressing frustration towards ongoing military efforts against armed extremists in the state.
In a separate incident in the northern Katsina state, gunmen ruthlessly murdered at least 21 individuals by systematically moving from house to house to carry out the killings. This attack shattered a six-month peace agreement between the community and the armed group, underscoring the precarious situation faced by residents in Nigeria’s secluded north.
Nigeria continues to grapple with a multifaceted security crisis, encompassing Islamic insurgency in the northeast, a surge in ransom kidnappings by armed groups in the northwest and north-central regions, and prevalent intercommunal violence in the central states. While various sources attribute the recent attacks to different armed groups, including the Lakurawa group affiliated with the Islamic State and factions of Boko Haram, no entity has claimed responsibility for the assaults that took place on Tuesday.
