The head of Woro village in Kwara State, Umar Bio Salihu, has revealed that armed bandits attacked his community for nearly 10 hours before security forces arrived, leaving scores dead and villages razed.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Thursday, Salihu said distress calls to authorities were made shortly after the attack began around 5:00pm, but soldiers only arrived at about 3:00am the following morning.
“I called after 5pm, but they did not come until about 3am. That was from 5pm to about 3am. That is about 10 hours,” he said.
Salihu disclosed that by the time the military arrived, the attackers had already fled, and no engagement took place.
“The military did not attack them. The bandits had gone when the military came,” he stated.
He also confirmed that there was no air interdiction during the attack.
“The plane did not engage them. They did not interdict. They did not drop any ammunition on them,” Salihu said.
According to the village head, the community had been left vulnerable after soldiers previously stationed there were withdrawn following an earlier attack.
“Initially, we had a military base there. We had about 15 soldiers there. About three to five months ago, they attacked the soldiers. Since then, they evacuated them. We have no security presence in that area,” he explained.
“That gave them the opportunity to come anytime, enter anytime and do whatever they like.”
Salihu confirmed that the attackers belonged to the Mamuda terrorist group, adding that the violence followed the community’s rejection of their ideology.
“Exactly. Our people are not ready to take that ideology. I think that is what made them angry to come and attack the communities,” he said.
He also clarified that the victims were largely Muslims, countering claims of religious conflict.
“The people they killed are mostly Muslims. About 95 per cent are Muslims and five per cent are Christians. They are not all Muslim, but the Muslims are the majority,” Salihu stated.
The village head disclosed that he had reported a threat letter to security agencies, raising concerns that sensitive intelligence may have been compromised.
“When they brought the letter, they brought it directly to me. That night, I sent the letter to the DSS in Kiama,” he said.
“The following day, I took the letter myself to the Emirate Council. They photocopied it. In that process, I think they lost the appropriate contact,” he added.
Salihu suggested that the disclosure may have alerted the terrorists.
“When the security agents went on patrol after the letter, the terrorists became angry,” he said.
Salihu revealed that at least 75 people had been buried, with fears the death toll could rise as bodies were still being recovered.
“As of yesterday, we buried 75 people. But as I’m speaking with you, there are still corpses in the bush,” he said.
He added that entire villages were destroyed, including his own home.
“They burned almost half of the villages, including my house,” Salihu disclosed.
The village head confirmed that Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq visited the affected communities and ordered immediate security deployment.
“The governor came to Kiama. He went there himself to see what happened. He saw the destruction,” Salihu said.
“Immediately, they took action. They directed the barracks to provide security. About 15 soldiers were deployed, and there are now about 80 security agents there,” he added.
Boluwatife Enome
Follow us on:
