Kwara massacre: Tinubu deploys army battalion to Kaiama LG

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate deployment of an army battalion to Kaiama Local Government Area (LGA) in Kwara State following a deadly terrorist attack that resulted in the deaths of at least 75 villagers.

The assault, which took place late Tuesday in the Woro and Nuku communities, saw armed extremists execute the predominantly Muslim villagers in a brutal attack.

In response to the escalating violence attributed to extremist groups, President Tinubu announced the launch of Operation Savannah Shield, a new military initiative aimed at restoring security and protecting vulnerable communities in the region.

In a statement issued Wednesday night by his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu condemned the attack as “cowardly” and “beastly,” describing the assailants as “heartless” for targeting defenseless villagers in what he called a “doomed campaign of terror.”

The statement read: “President Bola Tinubu has ordered the deployment of an army battalion to Kaiama Local Government, Kwara State, where Boko Haram terrorists overnight killed hapless villagers in Woro.

President Tinubu said the new military command will spearhead Operation Savannah Shield to checkmate the barbaric terrorists and protect defenseless communities.”

The President also expressed his outrage over the attackers’ motives, particularly their targeting of villagers who had refused to accept the extremists’ perverted ideology.

He praised the community’s resolve, noting their rejection of the violent teachings and their choice to follow Islam in its peaceful and non-extreme form.

“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,” President Tinubu added.

He urged both federal and state agencies to work together to assist the affected community and ensure that the perpetrators of this massacre are brought to justice.

President Tinubu also extended his condolences to the families of the victims, offering prayers for the repose of their souls, and expressed his sympathy to the people and government of Kwara State.

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, governor of Kwara State, who visited the affected communities on Wednesday night, described the attack as an act of extreme violence targeting local Muslims who had resisted extremist teachings.

The Governor, accompanied by state security officials, condemned the massacre, calling it a cowardly attempt by terrorist cells to retaliate against the ongoing counterterrorism efforts in the region.

Speaking at the palace of the Emir of Kaiama, AbdulRazaq explained that the attack was the result of the villagers’ refusal to adopt a distorted form of Islam propagated by the extremists.

“We commiserate with you over the death of 75 of your subjects. May Allah grant them aljana Firdaus,” AbdulRazaq said. “And from the information I’ve been getting, this village refuses to succumb to a perverted form of Islamic doctrine. These villagers don’t want any alteration to their faith, and because they refused to change, they were attacked and massacred.”

The attack in Kaiama is one of the deadliest in Kwara State this year, adding to concerns about the increasing spread of violence from Nigeria’s northwest, where banditry and extremism have long been a major issue.