The village head of Woro in Kwara State, Umar Bio Salihu, has alleged serious security lapses following a deadly attack on his community, revealing that soldiers arrived nearly 10 hours after armed terrorists killed scores of residents and razed several villages.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview on ARISE News, Salihu said the attack began around 5:00pm and lasted for hours, despite distress calls made to security agencies shortly after it started. According to him, military personnel only arrived at about 3:00am the next day, by which time the attackers had already withdrawn.
“I called after 5pm, but they did not come until about 3am. That was about 10 hours,” Salihu said.
He stated that no confrontation occurred between the military and the attackers, as they had fled before security forces arrived. He also confirmed that there was no air support or aerial interdiction during the assault.
“The military did not engage them. The bandits had gone when the military came. There was no air operation; no ammunition was dropped,” he said.
Salihu explained that the community had been left exposed after soldiers previously stationed in the area were withdrawn months earlier, following an earlier attack on the military base.
“Initially, we had about 15 soldiers stationed there. About three to five months ago, they were attacked, and since then, they were evacuated. We have had no security presence,” he said, adding that this created an opportunity for the attackers to strike freely.
He identified the assailants as members of the Mamuda terrorist group and linked the violence to the community’s refusal to accept the group’s ideology.
“Our people are not ready to take that ideology. I believe that is what made them angry enough to attack,” he said.
The village head also dismissed suggestions that the killings were religiously motivated, noting that most of the victims were Muslims.
“About 95 per cent of those killed are Muslims, while about five per cent are Christians,” he stated.
Salihu further disclosed that he had reported a threat letter to security agencies days before the attack, raising concerns that intelligence handling may have been compromised.
“When the letter was brought to me, I sent it to the DSS in Kiama that same night. The next day, I took it to the Emirate Council for documentation,” he said.
He suggested that subsequent patrols by security agents may have alerted the terrorists, triggering the attack.
“As of yesterday, we buried 75 people, but there are still bodies in the bush,” Salihu said, warning that the death toll could rise. He added that several villages were destroyed during the assault, including his own home.
“They burned almost half of the villages, including my house,” he said.
Salihu confirmed that Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq visited the affected communities and ordered immediate security reinforcements.
“The governor came personally and saw the level of destruction. Immediately, security was deployed. About 15 soldiers were sent initially, and there are now around 80 security personnel in the area,” he said.
The attack has renewed concerns over delayed security response, intelligence coordination, and the vulnerability of rural communities in Nigeria’s North-Central region.
