The head of Woro village in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, Umar Salihu, has alleged that security forces arrived nearly 10 hours after terrorists began attacking his community, by which time scores had been killed and the village razed.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, Salihu said the assault started at about 5 p.m., prompting immediate distress calls to security agencies. However, he claimed that soldiers did not arrive until around 3 a.m. the following morning.
“I called about 5 p.m., but they did not come until about 3 a.m. That is about 10 hours,” he said, adding that by the time troops arrived, the attackers had already fled. According to him, there was no direct engagement between the military and the assailants, nor was there any air intervention during the attack.
Salihu further disclosed that the community had previously hosted a military base with about 15 soldiers, but the personnel were withdrawn three to five months ago after an earlier attack. Since then, he said, the area has had no security presence, leaving residents vulnerable.
He identified the attackers as members of the Mamuda terrorist group and suggested that the violence followed the community’s refusal to accept their ideology. He also dismissed claims that the killings were driven by religious conflict, stating that about 95 percent of the victims were Muslims.
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters said troops were promptly deployed to conduct patrols and surveillance operations in Woro and neighbouring communities, expressing shock over what it described as cowardly terrorist attacks. The Peoples Democratic Party also criticised the Federal Government, alleging that prior security warnings were ignored and describing the incident as evidence of worsening insecurity.
