Armed assailants struck the remote Kwara State villages of Woro and Nuku overnight, killing at least 162 people in one of the deadliest attacks in recent months, lawmakers and medics said. Mohammed Omar Bio, the member of parliament for the area, told the Associated Press the attackers belong to the Lakurawa, an Islamist armed group aligned with the self‑styled Islamic State.
Early reports on Wednesday put the toll at 35–40 dead; officials later revised the figure to 67 and then to more than 100 as investigators continued to gather information. Ayodeji Emmanuel Babaomo, the Red Cross secretary in Kwara, said the organization had not yet been able to reach the affected communities. The villages are in a remote part of the state about eight hours from the capital and close to Nigeria’s border with Benin.
Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq described the raid as a “cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells,” saying it was a reaction to intensified military operations in the area, though he did not provide casualty details. Nigeria’s armed forces have stepped up operations against jihadists and armed bandits in recent weeks, saying last month they launched “sustained coordinated offensive operations” that achieved notable successes.
U.S. forces also carried out airstrikes in Kwara in December at Nigeria’s request, targeting Islamic State-linked militants.
The violence underscores broader security challenges across Nigeria. The country is contending with an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, widespread kidnappings and ransom-driven banditry in the north and northwest, and recurring intercommunal violence. Late‑year school abductions forced many education centers to close for weeks, and Nigeria’s former defense minister resigned in December amid the crisis.
Separately, recent weeks have seen other deadly incidents: gunmen killed 23 people in a reprisal attack in Doma village, Katsina State, following military raids that reportedly killed 27 militants, and assaults on a construction site and an army base in the northeast left at least 36 dead.
Authorities and relief groups are attempting to confirm final casualty numbers and reach survivors in the affected communities.