Gunmen suspected to be splinter terrorist group loyal to ISWAP have massacred 75 people and razed homes in Nuku and Woro communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The Kwara State Police Command spokesperson, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said the attack on the communities began at about 6pm on Tuesday.
Ejire-Adeyemi said security agencies had since been deployed to the affected areas but noted that the number of casualties remained uncertain, while reports of missing persons are still being investigated.
However, Rauf Ajakaye, the chief press secretary to AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, governor of Kwara, told TheCable that 75 residents were killed by the suspected terrorists during the attack.
He said the victims, who were moderate Muslims, were killed for “refusing to surrender to extremists who preached a strange doctrine”.
Ajakaye said the governor arrived in Kaiama on Wednesday night in the company of service chiefs and cabinet members to commiserate with the communities and assess the situation.
Meanwhile, the Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who arrived Kaiama on Wednesday night, in company of service chiefs and cabinet members, confirmed the death toll.
In a post on its official Facebook page, the Kwara State Government wrote: “75 local Muslims were massacred simply for refusing to surrender to extremists who preached a strange doctrine. The Governor, who commiserated with the community, announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved immediate deployment of an army battalion to prosecute counter offensives codenamed ‘Operation Savannah Shield.”
