BANDITS OPERATED FOR 10 HOURS BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED IN KWARA ATTACK — WORO COMMUNITY HEAD
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The head of Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, Umar Bio Salihu, has revealed that armed bandits operated freely in the area for about 10 hours before security operatives arrived, a delay he said resulted in dozens of deaths and the destruction of several villages.
Salihu disclosed this on Thursday during an interview on ARISE Television, where he recounted how the attackers began their operation around 5pm but were not confronted by soldiers until about 3am the following day.
“I called after 5pm, but they did not come until about 3am. That was from 5pm to about 3am. That is about 10 hours,” he said.
According to him, by the time the military arrived, the attackers had already withdrawn from the communities.
“The military did not attack them. The bandits had gone when the military came,” Salihu added, noting that no air interdiction was carried out during the prolonged assault.
The community leader said the area had been left vulnerable after soldiers previously stationed there were withdrawn following an earlier attack on their base.
“Initially, we had a military base there with about 15 soldiers. About three to five months ago, they attacked the soldiers, and since then, they evacuated them. We have no security presence in that area,” he said.
“That gave them the opportunity to come anytime, enter anytime and do whatever they like.”
Salihu identified the attackers as members of the Mamuda terrorist group, stating that the assault was triggered by the community’s refusal to embrace the group’s ideology.
“Our people are not ready to take that ideology. I think that is what made them angry to come and attack the communities,” he said.
He also dismissed claims that the killings were religiously motivated, stressing that the majority of the victims were Muslims.
“The people they killed are mostly Muslims. About 95 per cent are Muslims and five per cent are Christians. They are not all Muslim, but the Muslims are the majority,” he stated.
The village head further revealed that he had earlier reported a threat letter allegedly sent by the attackers to security agencies, raising concerns that sensitive information may have been compromised.
“When they brought the letter, they brought it directly to me. That night, I sent the letter to the DSS in Kaiama,” he said.
“The following day, I took the letter myself to the Emirate Council. They photocopied it. In that process, I think they lost the appropriate contact. When the security agents went on patrol after the letter, the terrorists became angry.”
Salihu said at least 75 people have been buried, adding that the death toll could rise as bodies were still being recovered from surrounding bushes.
He also disclosed that several villages were razed during the attack, including his personal residence.
“They burned almost half of the villages, including my house,” he said.
According to Salihu, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has since visited the affected communities and ordered the deployment of security personnel.
The killings in Kaiama are the latest in a series of violent attacks across north-central and north-west Nigeria, where rural communities have continued to face assaults by bandits and extremist groups despite ongoing military operations.
Findings show that in the past four weeks alone, hundreds of people have been killed or abducted in attacks across Niger, Kaduna, Kwara, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states, increasing pressure on the Federal Government’s security strategy.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate deployment of an Army battalion to the area under a new counter-offensive operation, as troops and forest guards move into the affected communities to restore security.
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