Soldiers Came 10 hrs After Terrorists Had Killed Scores — Village Head Speaks On Kwara Massacre

The head of Woro village in Kwara State, Umar Salihu, has said that terrorists attacked his community for nearly 10 hours before security forces arrived, leaving scores dead and the village was razed.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, yesterday, Salihu said distress calls to authorities were made shortly after the attack began about 5p.m., but soldiers only arrived about 3a.m., the following morning.

He also claimed that sensitive intelligence may have been compromised, as he had reported a threat letter to security agencies.

Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, said troops were promptly despatched to dominate the general areas with robust patrols and surveillance among other security measures for about two weeks, as it expressed shock over the tragic loss of innocent lives in what it called cowardly terrorist attacks on Woro and neighbouring communities in Kaiama, Kwara State.

This came as the the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accused the Federal Government of ignoring security warnings ahead of the reported killing in Woro community, describing the incident as a grim reflection of worsening insecurity in the country.

Salihu in the interview, said: “I called about 5p.m., but they did not come until about 3a.m. That was from 5p.m., to about 3a.m. That is about 10 hours.”

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 munition 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According to the village head, the community had been left vulnerable after soldiers previously stationed there were withdrawn following an earlier attack.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.

“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 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 percent are Christians. They are not all Muslim, but the Muslims are the majority.”

The village head disclosed that he had reported a threat letter to security agencies.

“When they brought the letter, they brought it directly to me. That night, I sent the letter to the Department of State Security, DSS in Kaiama.

“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.”

Salihu revealed that no fewer than 75 people had been buried, 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.
“They burnt almost half of the villages, including my house,” Salihu disclosed.

The village head confirmed that Governor AbdulRazaq visited the affected communities and ordered immediate security deployment.

“The governor came to Kaiama. He went there himself to see what happened. He saw the destruction.

“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.