A security expert, Salihu Dantata, has alleged that the number of casualties recorded in the recent attack in Kwara State exceeds the figures released by the government.
Dantata made the claim on Thursday during an appearance on Arise Television, where he expressed concern over what he described as underreporting of the incident’s impact. According to him, residents of the affected local government area began transmitting information in real time as the attack unfolded.
He lamented that security intervention was delayed, allowing the situation to escalate before any meaningful rescue effort arrived. “As the incident was happening, residents already started transmitting the information. Unfortunately, rescue did not come until a lot of people were massacred,” he said.
Dantata further linked the attack to previous security threats in the area, noting that the same local government had recently experienced threats from a group he identified as Mamuda terrorists. He explained that the group had allegedly warned residents in the affected council area and neighbouring Baruto Local Government not to access their farmlands during the farming season.
He maintained that the casualty figures currently being circulated by authorities do not reflect the full scale of the tragedy. According to him, information reaching him shortly before the interview indicated that fatalities could be as high as 300.
His remarks come amid growing concern over security challenges in parts of the state, as authorities continue investigations and security operations in the affected communities.
