Kwara massacre: Red Cross confirms 162 deaths

Kwara map

Gunmen killed at least 162 people in Nigeria’s Kwara state in one of the deadliest attacks in the country in recent months, a Red Cross official said Wednesday.

The attack late Tuesday on a village in the west-central state came after the military recently carried out operations in the area against what it called “terrorist elements”.

Recall Kwara Governor , AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, confirmed the death of 75 persons.

AbdulRasaq disclosed the figure on Wednesday night while addressing residents at the palace of the Emir of Kaiama, explaining that the victims were “local Muslims massacred for refusing to surrender to extremists preaching a strange doctrine.”

He revealed that Tinubu had approved the immediate deployment of an army battalion under Operation Savannah Shield to launch counter-offensives against the attackers.

Parts of Nigeria are plagued by armed gangs known as bandits — who loot villages and kidnap for ransom, as well as intercommunal violence in the central states and jihadist groups that are active in the northeast and northwest.

“Reports said that the death toll now stands at 162, as the search for more bodies continues,” Babaomo Ayodeji, Kwara state secretary of the Red Cross, said, updating an earlier toll of 67.

Earlier, a local lawmaker in the Kaiama region, Sa’idu Baba Ahmed, told AFP that between “35 to 40 dead bodies were counted” from the attack on Tuesday evening.

The attack was confirmed by police, who did not provide casualty figures, and the state government, which blamed “terrorist cells”.

“Many others escaped into the bush with gunshots,” Ahmed said, adding that more bodies could be found.

The gunmen invaded Woro village at around 6:00 pm (1700 GMT) on Tuesday and set “shops and the king’s palace ablaze”, said Ahmed.