Manny Ita-
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate deployment of an army battalion to Kaiama Local Government Area in Kwara State following a catastrophic extremist incursion that claimed the lives of 162 people. The massacre, which occurred in the remote villages of Woro and Nuku near the border with the Republic of Benin, has been attributed to the Lakurawa, an armed group with Sahelian origins and reported affiliations with the Islamic State. Local officials and the Nigerian Red Cross confirmed the casualty figures on Thursday, marking the incident as one of the deadliest attacks in the North-Central region in recent history. The Presidency has characterized the assault as a national emergency, directing security forces to move into the Borgu National Park and surrounding forests to flush out the perpetrators.
According to survivor testimonies, the militants arrived on motorcycles and initially gathered residents to listen to a sermon where they demanded the imposition of Sharia law. Sa’idu Baba Ahmed, a local lawmaker who visited the scene, reported that the attackers turned to violence when the community resisted these demands. “They rounded up residents, bound their hands, and executed them,” Ahmed stated, adding that the gunmen proceeded to torch homes and shops, leaving nothing but ash in their wake. The violence has triggered a significant humanitarian crisis, with the Red Cross warning that survivors are currently without food or shelter while search parties continue to recover bodies from the surrounding bushland.
Amid the ongoing security operation, there is growing concern over the fate of the traditional king of the affected community, who remains missing following the raid. While Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq described the killings as a “cowardly expression of frustration” by terrorist cells reacting to military pressure, human rights organizations have pointed to critical security lapses. Amnesty International noted that the targeted communities had reportedly received warning letters from the insurgents for over five months prior to the eventual assault. Military officials have since confirmed that troops have begun to storm remote camps and destroy logistics bases used by the Lakurawa in an effort to stabilize the Kaiama-Borgu axis.
