At least 170 people are feared dead after suspected Boko Haram fighters launched a devastating attack on Woro, a secluded community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The invasion began around 5 p.m. on Tuesday and stretched into the early hours of Wednesday, according to residents and community leaders. Armed men reportedly swept into the village firing indiscriminately, torching homes and shops, and abducting an unknown number of women and children.
Initial reports suggested that about 40 people were killed. However, the scale of the tragedy became clearer after a joint search operation involving soldiers and forest guards combed the area.
A resident, who spoke while hiding for safety reasons, said rescue teams had counted no fewer than 170 bodies by Wednesday afternoon.
“They counted 170 corpses today,” the resident said, declining to be named for fear of reprisals.
The Union Leader Tragedy
One of those killed was Salihu Ibrahim, a former students’ union leader of the Kwara State College of Nursing in Ilorin.
Another survivor, who escaped into the nearby forest, said the attackers destroyed large parts of the village, including the palace of the district head, Salihu Umar, who remains missing.
“They burned houses and shops, and even took the district head’s Jeep,” the resident said. “They used it to carry some of the kidnapped people into the forest.”
Many villagers were still trapped in nearby bushes as of Wednesday, unable to return home.
“We’ve been hiding since yesterday,” one resident said. “The shooting didn’t stop until this morning.”
The Refuge
Woro lies close to the Kainji National Park, a vast forest spanning more than 5,300 square kilometres.
The area has increasingly become a refuge for armed groups.
While the Ansaru faction, locally known as Mamuda, has operated there since around 2020, Boko Haram fighters are believed to have moved into the forest as recently as July 2025.
A community leader in Kaiama disclosed that the attack followed earlier contact between the terrorists and local authorities.
About five months ago, the group allegedly sent a letter to the district head of Woro, notifying him of plans to visit the community for preaching.
The district head reportedly forwarded the letter to the Kwara State Emirate Council in Ilorin, which requested security deployment. Soldiers were initially stationed in the area but later withdrew after weeks passed without incident.
According to the source, the fighters later relocated to Baburasa, a neighbouring village, where they held preaching sessions about three weeks ago.
“They mentioned several communities they intended to attack, but Woro was not among them,” the leader said.
He suggested that Woro may have been targeted because the district head alerted authorities about the group’s movements.
“At the moment, nobody knows where the district head is,” he added.
The Police Remain Silence
As of press time, the Kwara State Police Command had not responded to requests for comment.
The Nigerian Army also had yet to release an official statement.
However, Al Jazeera quoted police sources as confirming the attack and the deployment of military operatives to the area, though no casualty figures were provided.
The massacre in Woro comes barely a month after Boko Haram fighters attacked Kasuwan Daji in Niger State, killing more than 30 people and abducting women and children.
The same faction has also been linked to the abduction of over 300 students from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.
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Security sources say the group recently shifted operations to the Kainji axis after facing sustained military airstrikes and internal clashes with bandit leader Dogo Gide, a former ally.