Jihadists have been identified as being behind the execution of several persons in Woro village, Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State on Tuesday by the Red Cross and Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
However, while the Red Cross put the death toll at 162, the Kwara State Government said 75 persons were executed.
The Secretary of the Kwara State chapter of the Red Cross, Babaomo Ayodeji, said the confirmed death toll stood at 162 as of Wednesday afternoon.
A local politician told Reuters that the figure could be as high as 170.
Sa’idu Ahmed, a politician from the Kaiama axis, told Reuters that the attackers rounded up villagers, tied their hands behind their backs, and executed them.
He added that homes and shops were also set ablaze during the assault.
“I am in the village along with military personnel, sorting dead bodies and searching nearby areas,” Ahmed said.
He disclosed that many villagers fled into surrounding bushes with gunshot wounds, while several residents, including the village’s traditional ruler, were still missing as of Wednesday.
AbdulRazaq also confirmed that jihadists were behind the killing.
He said the local Muslims were massacred simply for refusing to surrender to extremists who preached a strange doctrine.
The governor, who commiserated with the communities, announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved immediate deployment of an army battalion to prosecute counter offensives in the area.
He said the security initiative was codenamed: “Operation Savannah Shield.”
“The injured were later taken to the General Hospital, but some were referred to the Teaching Hospital,” he added.
The governor, who condemned the attack, described the incident as a cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells following the ongoing counterterrorism campaigns in parts of the state and the successes so far recorded.
He expressed his heartfelt condolences to Woro and Nuku communities on the incident, especially the families affected in Tuesday’s attack.
Source: Newsdiary Online