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President Bola Tinubu has ordered the deployment of an army battalion to Kaiama Local Government Area in Kwara State following an attack on Woro village that left at least 162 people dead, his office said on Wednesday.
The attack occurred on Tuesday in Woro village. Babaomo Ayodeji, secretary of the Red Cross in Kwara State, said the confirmed death toll had reached 162 by Wednesday afternoon, according to AFP.
Meanwhile, Sa’idu Baba Ahmed, a local politician, told Reuters the figure could be higher, estimating that as many as 170 people may have died.
In a statement released through his presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu called the gunmen “heartless for choosing soft targets in their doomed campaign of terror” and described the attack as a “cowardly and beastly attack.”
Residents told local authorities and aid workers that the attackers claimed to be jihadists and had previously preached in the community, urging residents to renounce allegiance to the Nigerian state in favour of Sharia law.
In response, Tinubu was furious that the attackers had killed community members for rejecting their “obnoxious attempt at indoctrination, choosing instead to practise Islam that is neither extreme nor violent.”
“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,” the president was quoted as saying.
Tinubu then directed the military to establish a new command to lead Operation Savannah Shield to “checkmate the barbaric terrorists and protect defenceless communities.”
He called for collaboration between federal and state agencies to provide succour to members of the community and ensure those who committed the atrocities do not go scot-free.
The president also prayed for the repose of the soul of the deceased and consoled those who lost family members, and expressed condolences to the people and the government of the state.
The Nigerian Police Force has not yet released official casualty statistics as of the time this report was filed.
