Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has said no fewer than 75 Muslims were killed during a violent attack on communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of the state.
The governor disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday following a visit to the affected areas, saying the victims were attacked by extremists for refusing to accept their ideology.
According to a post on the official Facebook handle of the Kwara State Government, the killings occurred in Woro and Nuku communities, where residents were said to have been targeted for declining to submit to what the government described as a “strange doctrine” preached by the attackers.
The government added that President Bola Tinubu had approved the immediate deployment of an Army battalion to the area to contain the situation and prevent further attacks.
The counter-offensive has been codenamed Operation Savannah Shield.
“Seventy-five local Muslims were massacred simply for refusing to surrender to extremists who preached a strange doctrine,” the statement read.
During his visit to Kaiama on Wednesday night, Abdulrazaq commiserated with the affected communities and families of the victims, describing the attack as brutal and senseless.
In a separate statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, the attack was condemned as “a cowardly assault on innocent civilians.”
“The governor condemns the attack, which he says is a cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells following the ongoing counterterrorism campaigns in parts of the state and the successes so far recorded,” the statement said.
The government noted that the assault was allegedly aimed at diverting the attention of security agencies, which it said had recorded significant gains in recent operations against terrorist and kidnapping gangs across the state.
Residents of the affected communities have continued to call for sustained security presence and urgent humanitarian support as investigations and security operations intensify.