Deadly Attack in Nigeria’s Kwara State Leaves Over 160 Dead
Armed militants attacked two villages in Nigeria’s western Kwara state overnight, killing at least 162 people, according to the Nigerian Red Cross. The assault on the communities of Woro and Nuku is one of the deadliest incidents in the region in recent months.
Mohammed Omar Bio, a member of parliament representing the area, told the Associated Press that the assailants belong to the Lakurawa, an Islamist armed group aligned with the self-styled “Islamic State.” Initial casualty reports fluctuated significantly, rising from early estimates of 35-40 to over 100 as more bodies were discovered.
The villages are located in a remote area near the border with Benin, approximately eight hours from Kwara’s state capital. Ayodeji Emmanuel Babaomo, the Red Cross secretary for Kwara, confirmed the organization has been unable to access the communities due to the difficult terrain and security situation.
Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq condemned the attack as a “cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells,” linking it to ongoing military operations against armed groups in the state. He did not provide his own casualty figure. Nigeria’s military has intensified operations against jihadists and bandits in Kwara in recent weeks, following a similar pattern of sustained offensives announced last month.
The attack occurs against a backdrop of persistent security crises across Nigeria. The country’s military is engaged in a long-standing insurgency against Islamic militants in the northeast, while bandit groups conduct mass kidnappings and raids in the northwest and north. Intercommunal violence also plagues several states. In December, the U.S. conducted airstrikes in Kwara against Islamic State militants at Nigeria’s request, highlighting the international dimension of the conflict.
In a separate incident on Tuesday in the northwestern state of Katsina, gunmen killed 23 people in the village of Doma. Authorities described it as a reprisal attack following military raids that left 27 militants dead. Last week, attacks on a construction site and an army base in the northeast claimed at least 36 lives.
The assault on Woro and Nuku underscores the severe and multifaceted security challenges facing Africa’s most populous nation, where state forces struggle to maintain control over vast rural areas despite periodic military campaigns. Relief efforts remain hampered by the remote location and the continued presence of armed groups.
