President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the deployment of an Army battalion to Kwara State following a deadly terrorist attack that left more than 160 people feared dead and several properties destroyed in Woro Village.
The presidential directive was confirmed by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who said the move is aimed at restoring peace and protecting vulnerable communities.
According to Onanuga, the newly deployed troops will lead Operation Savannah Shield, a special military mission designed to “checkmate the barbaric terrorists and protect defenceless communities.”
Condemning the attack, President Tinubu described the gunmen as “heartless for choosing soft targets in their doomed campaign of terror,” expressing outrage over the killing of villagers who resisted extremist indoctrination.
“It’s commendable that the community members, even though Muslims, refused to be conscripted into a weird belief that promoted violence over peace and dialogue,” the President said while condoling with families of the victims.
He also directed federal and state authorities to work closely in providing relief to affected residents and ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice.
“Those who committed these atrocities must not go scot-free,” Tinubu added.
Residents said the late Tuesday attack saw gunmen storm Woro Village, killing over 160 people, setting shops ablaze and burning the home of a traditional ruler. Survivors reportedly fled into nearby bushes as the assailants opened fire indiscriminately.
Local sources said the violence erupted after villagers rejected attempts by an extremist group known as Mahmuda to indoctrinate them. Two vehicles belonging to the village head were allegedly commandeered by the attackers to transport abducted residents.
The assault comes barely weeks after the military announced it had launched “sustained coordinated offensive operations against terrorist elements” in parts of Kwara State.
“Troops also stormed remote camps hitherto inaccessible to security forces where several abandoned camps and logistics enablers were destroyed, significantly degrading the terrorists,” the military said in a previous statement.
In response to the worsening security situation, the Kwara State Government imposed curfews in affected areas and temporarily shut schools before later ordering their reopening.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who has visited the community, described the killings as “genocide” and vowed that criminal elements operating across Kwara and neighbouring Niger State would be flushed out within one month.
Security agencies have intensified patrols as residents await further government intervention.
