At least 75 people have been confirmed dead and several homes razed following an attack by suspected terrorists on the Nuku and Woro communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the Kwara State police spokesperson, said the assault on the communities began around 6pm on Tuesday.
She noted that security operatives have since been deployed to the affected areas, adding that casualty figures are still being verified while investigations into reports of missing persons continue.
However, Rauf Ajakaye, chief press secretary to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, told TheCable that 75 residents were killed during the attack.
He explained that the victims, described as moderate Muslims, were targeted for “refusing to surrender to extremists who preached a strange doctrine”.
Ajakaye said the governor visited Kaiama on Wednesday night alongside service chiefs and cabinet members to commiserate with residents and assess the level of destruction.
According to him, AbdulRazaq, who was received by the Emir of Kaiama, announced that President Bola Tinubu had approved the immediate deployment of an army battalion to launch counteroffensives under an operation codenamed ‘Operation Savannah Shield’ in the affected communities.
The governor had earlier condemned the attack, calling it a “cowardly assault on innocent civilians”, and suggested it was aimed at diverting the attention of security agencies amid ongoing counterterrorism efforts in the state.
The incident comes amid renewed security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States, following Washington’s confirmation that a “small team” of US troops has been deployed to the country.
Dagvin Anderson, head of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), disclosed this during a press briefing on Tuesday, marking the first public confirmation of US troops operating in Nigeria since missile strikes were authorised against terrorist targets in Sokoto on Christmas Day during the Donald Trump administration.
In recent years, bandit groups active in Nigeria’s north-west have expanded operations into Kwara and neighbouring Niger State, while jihadist groups linked to a Boko Haram splinter faction have also carried out attacks in the state, often targeting markets and vigilante groups.