Suspected terrorists launched a coordinated attack on the Woro and Nuku communities in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State on Tuesday evening, resulting in the deaths of over ten villagers. The assailants, believed to have crossed over from the forested areas of the Borgu National Park in neighbouring Niger State, invaded the rural settlements around 6pm, firing sporadically and razing numerous residential buildings. Survivors recounted scenes of chaos as families were forced to flee into the surrounding bushes while their homes were reduced to ashes.
The Kwara State Government, in a late-night statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, condemned the killings as a “cowardly expression of frustration” by criminal elements. Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq suggested that the attack was a retaliatory strike following recent successes by security forces in dismantling kidnapping rings and terrorist cells within the state’s border regions. The government alleged that the timing of the raid was specifically designed to distract security agencies from their ongoing offensive in the forested borderlands.
Photographs from the scene show extensive devastation, with personal belongings and food stores destroyed in the fires set by the gunmen. Many residents of the affected communities have now been displaced, seeking refuge in Kaiama town and other nearby settlements as fear of further attacks remains high. Local vigilante groups and traditional leaders have called for a permanent security outpost in the area, noting that the vast, ungoverned spaces of the national park provide a convenient hideout for bandits operating across state lines.
