*Royal Father’s Whereabouts Unknown, Palace Razed
*Many Persons Missing
*Gov Blames Terrorist Cells
Terrorists, on Tuesday evening, attacked Woro and Nuku communities, Kaiama Local Government Area (LGA) of Kwara State, with the Red Cross updating earlier information on the death toll and now saying that at least 162 persons were massacred by the enemies of society who also razed down several houses.
The toll update makes it one of the deadliest attacks in recent months in the country, which has been plagued by interlinked security crises.
Terrorists, labelled, albeit lightly, as bandits, loot villages and kidnap for ransom, operate in swathes of the country, with jihadist groups active in the North-East, North-West and parts of the North-Central.
“Reports said that the death toll now stands at 162, as the search for more bodies continues,” said Babaomo Ayodeji, the Kwara State Secretary of the Red Cross, updating the earlier toll of 67.
Earlier, a local lawmaker in Kaiama, Hon. Sa’idu Baba Ahmed, said between “35 to 40 dead bodies were counted” after the massacre.
The attack was confirmed by police, who did not provide casualty figures, and the state government, which blamed it on “terrorist cells.”
“Many others escaped into the bush with gunshots,” Ahmed said, adding that more bodies could be found.
The gunmen invaded Woro at about 6:00pm and set “shops and the king’s palace ablaze”, said Ahmed. He added that the traditional king’s whereabouts were unknown.
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, condemned the attack as “a cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells following the ongoing counter-terrorism campaigns in parts of the state.”
The military has intensified operations against jihadists and armed bandits and regularly claims to have killed huge numbers of fighters.
Last month, the military said it had launched “sustained coordinated offensive operations against terrorist elements” in Kwara State and achieved notable successes.
The media reported that the Army had “neutralised” 150 bandits, a term used to mean killed.
“They successfully neutralised … terrorists, while others managed to escape into the forest,” the Army said in a statement on 30 January, adding it had cleared their hideouts.
“Troops also stormed remote camps hitherto inaccessible to security forces where several abandoned camps and logistics enablers were destroyed significantly degrading the terrorists’ sustainment capability,” it said.
In response to myriad security issues, authorities in Kwara state had imposed curfews in certain areas and closed schools for several weeks before ordering them to reopen on Monday.
Nigeria has been under intense scrutiny in recent months since US President, Donald Trump, alleged a genocide of Christians in Africa’s most populous country.
The claim was rejected by the Federal Government which said the country’s security crises claim the lives of both Christians and Muslims, often without distinction.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Terrorists on the prowl.
