President Bola Tinubu said he has ordered the deployment of an army battalion to Woro, a village in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, where Boko Haram terrorists killed dozens of villagers in an overnight attack.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Boko Haram terrorists under the command of Mallam Sadiku killed about 170 locals in the attack that lasted for several hours. The state government put the casualty figures at 75 while the Red Cross said 162 deaths have been confirmed as of Wednesday evening.
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Mr Tinubu’s words were conveyed in a statement issued by a presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, late Wednesday.
“President Tinubu said the new military command will spearhead Operation Savannah Shield to checkmate the barbaric terrorists and protect defenceless communities,” Mr Onanuga stated.
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He said the president condemned the “cowardly and beastly attack” and described the terrorists as “heartless” for targeting the residents of the village.
According to the statement, Mr Tinubu believes that the villagers who were Muslims were killed for refusing to be “conscripted into a weird belief that promoted violence over peace and dialogue.”
Mr Onanuga said the president commended the victims for rejecting radical Islam being propagated by the terrorists.
The president urged collaboration between federal and state agencies to provide succour to members of the community and “ensure those who committed the atrocities do not go scot-free.”
“President Tinubu prayed for the repose of the soul of the deceased and condoled with those who lost family members,” Mr Onanuga said.
The attack
According to residents, the attack began around 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, and lingered for several hours until the terrorists vacated the community early Wednesday morning.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the attack occurred about five months after the terror group sent a warning letter, informing the district head of Woro, Salihu Umar, that it would come to preach its radical ideology.
Mr Umar reported the matter to Ilorin Emirates Council and secured posting of soldiers to his community. This, sources believed, stopped the terrorists from coming as earlier planned.
Locals suspect that the recent attack could be in retaliation to the invitation of the military to the community.
Reuters earlier quoted a local politician, Sa’idu Ahmed, as estimating the death toll at 40, noting that more bodies were likely to be found.
By Wednesday evening, local sources said the casualty figures had risen to 170. But Rafiu Ajakaiye, the spokesperson to the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said the Emir of Kaiama confirmed 75 people dead when the governor’s team visited him in his palace in Kaiama.
PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify these contrasting figures.
The police in Kwara also confirmed the attack, saying several people were killed, others injured, and homes and properties destroyed.
Sources in the area told our reporter that Mr Umar’s palace was among the houses set on fire.
The police spokesperson in the state, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said police tactical teams in collaboration with the military, forest guards, and local vigilantes have been deployed to secure the area, while investigations are underway to track the attackers, who reportedly fled toward the Kainji National Park forest.
Sadiku Boko Haram faction
After reigning terror in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, the Sadiku-led Boko Haram faction relocated to Kainji forest reserve in July last year.
Sources including ex-members of the group told this reporter that the group left its former stronghold due to sustained military aerial offensives and infighting with Dogo Gide, a notorious bandit leader Mallam Sadiku had collaborated with to stage violent attacks in North-west and North-central.
ALSO READ: Five months after warning letter, Boko Haram attacks Kwara community, kills 170, abducts women and children
The group was operating from Alawa forest reserve in Shiroro LGA. Its campaign of terror had driven locals away from their homes.
Barely four months after its relocation, the group invaded Papiri, a community on the fringes of Kainji National Park, kidnapping over 300 students and staff from St Mary’s Catholic school.
In January, the group invaded Kasuwan Daji, killing more than 30 locals and kidnapping women and children. Sources in the area said the captives are still with the group.
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