People pray next to the bodies of victims of a terrorist attack before burial in Woro community in Kaiyama Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria on February 4, 2026. | Image Credit: Reuters
President of Nigeria Ahmed Tinubu is the ball An army battalion was deployed to the troubled state after gunmen killed 162 people in the country’s deadliest attack in recent months.
The late Tuesday night (February 4, 2026) attack on Woro village in Kwara state came after the military recently conducted an operation in the area on what it termed “terrorist elements”.
The Kwara state secretary of the Red Cross, Babamo Ayodeji, said gunmen burned shops and houses of traditional rulers and injured people fled into the bush. AFP.
“Reports put the death toll at 162 as the search continues for more bodies,” Mr Ayodeji said.
The police confirmed the attack but did not give any casualty figures.
Earlier, local lawmaker Saidu Baba Ahmed gave an initial toll of 35-40 dead but said more bodies would be recovered as many of the injured fled into the bush. Abdul Rahman Abdul Razak, the governor of the west-central state, put the death toll at 75.
Conflicting accounts often emerge after attacks in rural areas.
No group claimed responsibility, but the state government blamed “terrorist cells” and Mr Tinubu blamed the attack on Boko Haram jihadists.
Parts of Nigeria are plagued by armed gangs that loot villages and kidnap for ransom, as well as inter-communal violence in the central states and jihadist groups active in the north.
Tinubu, who commanded the battalion to secure the area, condemned the “beast attack” which he said was carried out against villagers who rejected the jihadists’ ideology.
“President Tinubu expressed outrage that the assailants killed members of the community who rejected their despicable attempt,” a presidential statement said.
Lawmaker Ahmed said the gunmen invaded Woro at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT) on Tuesday and “burned down shops and the king’s palace”.
In a separate attack on Tuesday in northern Katsina state, bandits are suspected of killing 23 civilians in retaliation for air force operations that killed 27 “militants”, according to a security report prepared for the United Nations.
A military operation
In Woro, the location of the traditional king is unknown, Ahmad said. The king was named as Alhaji Salihu Umar by a Red Cross official.
Nigeria has many traditional kings, emirs and rulers who hold no political office but have great local and cultural influence.
The Nigerian Army has intensified operations against jihadists and armed bandits. Last month, the military said it had launched “sustained coordinated offensive operations against terrorist elements” in Kwara state.
Local media reported that the army had “neutralized” 150 bandits.
“Army forces attacked remote camps hitherto inaccessible to security forces, where several abandoned camps and logistics enablers were destroyed and terrorists were significantly maimed,” the military said in a January 30 statement.
Jihadi attacks in Nigeria intensified last year. The powerful al-Qaeda affiliate Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has claimed responsibility for its first attack in Nigeria’s Kwara state.
JNIM operates on the northern border of Niger, Nigeria.
Researcher Bryant Philip said the latest attack took place near a site where JNIM attacked last October, indicating “direct overlap” between JNIM and Boko Haram, with the groups appearing to have a “loose alliance”.
In response to recent security concerns, Kwara state imposed curfews in some areas and closed schools for several weeks before ordering them to reopen on Monday.
Insecurity in Africa’s most populous country has come under intense scrutiny in recent months after US President Donald Trump accused Nigerian Christians of a “genocide”.
The claim has been rejected by the government and many independent experts, who say Christians and Muslims have been killed in the country’s violence, often indiscriminately.
Published – February 05, 2026 09:27 pm IS T
