Terrorists slaughtered at least 162 residents in Kwara’s Woro and Nuku villages on February 3, but soldiers now extort motorists instead of chasing the killers.
Heavily armed terrorists stormed the two communities in Kaiama Local Government Area around 5:30 p.m. on February 3 and rampaged until early the next morning.
They tied victims’ hands and feet, slit throats, shot families indiscriminately, burned dozens of homes and shops, and abducted 38 people.
The attackers struck after villagers refused their ultimatum to reject the Nigerian constitution and adopt an extreme form of Sharia law.
President Bola Tinubu publicly blamed Boko Haram for the carnage and immediately deployed an army battalion to the region under Operation Savanna Shield.
Officials promised swift pursuit of the terrorists, who fled into nearby forests close to the Benin border.However, residents now say the soldiers ignore those forests entirely.
Instead, they mount roadblocks right on Woro’s main street leading from Kaiama and harass passing vehicles.
“They didn’t enter the forest; they are just hanging around the community. That is what’s paining the community,” one resident told Sahara Reporters.
Another added: “The soldiers that we thought would enter the forest to fight these terrorists, they are now monitoring vehicle movement in the town. …
They mount a roadblock there to disturb vehicle owners and to extort motorists.”
Meanwhile, fear paralyzes nearby settlements such as Kali, Baburasa, and Gada Oli.
Villagers abandon farms by mid-afternoon, sleep with one eye open, and send children and women to relatives in Kaiama or Ilorin.
Local vigilantes carry only Dane guns and sticks against terrorists armed with sophisticated weapons.
Furthermore, the village head of Baburasa, Ibrahim Hammad, voiced deep frustration:
“We don’t have full security in this community. … We are begging the government to please bring security to our community.”
As a result, survivors who lost entire families now endure double trauma—first from the massacre, then from the very forces sent to protect them.
Many families have already fled, while those who remain demand real protection before another attack wipes out more lives.
Three weeks after the bloodiest assault in the region in years, the terrorists remain at large in the forests, and the people of Woro still wait for genuine security.
