KWARA STATE, Nigeria — At least 75 people have been killed following a brutal shooting attack on two villages in Nigeria’s western Kwara state, with local officials and human rights groups warning the death toll could exceed 170 as recovery operations continue.
Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said on Tuesday that gunmen stormed the villages of Woro and Nuku, massacring residents who had refused to “surrender to extremists who preached a strange doctrine.” Writing on X, the governor said “75 local Muslims were massacred” during the assault.
A member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Saidu Baba Ahmed, told the BBC that 78 bodies had already been buried, with more corpses still being recovered from surrounding bushes. He said the final toll could rise sharply as search teams access remote areas.
The attackers reportedly arrived on motorcycles shortly after 5:00 p.m. local time, opening fire on residents for several hours, torching homes and shops, and abducting at least 38 people, according to local officials. Survivors fled into nearby forests as the assault continued late into the night.
President Bola Tinubu blamed Islamist militant group Boko Haram for the killings and ordered the immediate deployment of an army battalion to the affected communities. Security agencies say the deployment is aimed at stabilising the area and preventing further attacks.
Residents told the BBC that the violence followed growing Boko Haram activity in the region. According to Ahmed, the militants had earlier contacted community leaders, claiming they wanted to preach, but villagers rejected their message and mobilised local vigilante groups.
“This attack happened because the people refused to accept a strict interpretation of Islam,” Ahmed said.
A Red Cross official in Kwara, Babaomo Ayodeji, told AFP that reports from the field indicated the death toll had reached 162, while Amnesty International said more than 170 people may have been killed, many shot at close range and others burned alive.
“The magnitude of this attack points to a stunning absence of adequate security measures to protect civilian lives,” Amnesty said, calling for an urgent and transparent investigation.
The governor said the massacre may have been intended to divert security forces following recent counter-terrorism operations that had successfully targeted militant and kidnapping gangs in the region.
“The attack appears calculated to distract security agencies who have recently intensified operations against terrorists,” AbdulRazaq said in a statement.
The Kwara assault is part of a broader surge in violence across Nigeria. Amnesty International reported that 21 people were killed the same day in Doma village, Katsina state, while 17 others died in separate attacks in Borno state, Boko Haram’s long-time stronghold in the northeast.
The attacks come as Nigeria officially acknowledged the presence of U.S. military personnel supporting counter-terrorism efforts, following comments by U.S. Africa Command (Africom) confirming a deployment focused on intelligence assistance at Abuja’s request.
Nigeria continues to face overlapping security threats, including jihadist insurgency, criminal banditry, mass kidnappings for ransom, land-related conflicts, and separatist unrest, stretching security forces across multiple regions.
