Soldiers And Forest Guards Secure Kwara Communities As Death Toll Rises To 40

After the bandit attack on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State on Tuesday evening, soldiers and forest guards have been deployed to the affected areas, while the number of those killed has risen to forty.

A dependable source within the local government confirmed the development on Wednesday morning, speaking to journalists on the condition of anonymity.

“The casualties are over Forty as we speak, and soldiers and Forest Guards have taken over the two communities. It’s such a very sad development at a time we think we are having peace from the bandits’ attacks of the past,” she said.

The attack occurred on Tuesday evening when bandits launched a fresh assault on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Government Area.

Investigations showed that many families were bereaved during the violence, and several houses were allegedly burnt by the attackers.

Sources disclosed that the assailants, suspected to have come from nearby villages in Niger State, reportedly entered the communities to preach to residents, urging them to abandon the Nigerian Constitution and adopt the Qur’an.

It was further learned that the same group had earlier gone around villages in Niger State delivering similar messages before making their way into the affected communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.

During the preaching, some members of the congregation reportedly objected to the message, a development that enraged the bandits and led them to open fire.

“The angry bandits open attack indiscriminately on the congregation, and no fewer than forty residents of the two communities died; few of them escaped.
They should be preparing mass burial for them as we speak,” the source said, requesting anonymity.

Meanwhile, the Kwara State Government has confirmed the attack in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye.

According to the statement, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq expressed deep sorrow over the attack in Kaiama and noted that security agencies were making progress in counterterrorism efforts.

“Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is saddened by the cowardly attack on civilians in Woro and Nuku communities of Kaiama Local Government Area.

“The Governor condemns the attack, which he says is a cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells following the ongoing counterterrorism campaigns in parts of the state and the successes so far recorded.

“Governor AbdulRazaq says the attack was apparently to distract the security forces who have successfully hunted down several terrorist and kidnapping gangs across many parts of the state.

“The Governor expresses heartfelt condolences to Woro and Nuku communities on the sad incident, especially the families affected in the Tuesday attack,” he said.