Mass Burial in Kwara as Survivors Mourn Victims of Deadly Woro Village Attack

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Feb 6, 2026 #Boko Haram affiliate violence, #Kaiama local government, #Kwara State attack, #mass burial Nigeria, #Nigeria military deployment, #Nigeria security crisis, #Nigerian extremists violence, #suspected jihadist attack Kwara, #Woro village massacre

Segun Atanda/

Communities in Kwara State held mass burials this week for dozens of villagers killed in one of the deadliest attacks in the country this year, following a brutal assault by suspected jihadist fighters in the remote community of Woro.

The funerals came amid growing grief and anger as families laid to rest at least 75 victims, even as authorities and humanitarian agencies continued efforts to recover bodies from the surrounding bushland.

Officials say the overall death toll from the overnight attack on February 3 and 4 may be far higher, with figures varying between 162 and 170 or more, as search teams comb through the devastated area.

Local residents, who fled into the bush during the assault, described scenes of chaos and terror.

Witnesses and officials told international news agencies that gunmen, suspected to be affiliated with Islamist extremist groups, rounded up villagers, bound some victims and executed them before burning homes and shops.

Some survivors recounted how attackers had earlier preached in the area and demanded that locals renounce allegiance to the Nigerian state and adopt Sharia law, according to authorities and residents. When villagers resisted, the militants opened fire.

The mass burial was held in the Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area, with local leaders, residents and officials attending the solemn ceremony.

Flags flew at half-mast as grieving relatives, some in tears, watched their loved ones lowered into shared graves.

President Bola Tinubu has condemned the assault as “cowardly and barbaric” and ordered the deployment of an army battalion to the region to prevent further violence.

Kwara authorities and the federal government are calling for intensified military operations to hunt down those responsible, while also seeking to bolster security in vulnerable communities.

The attack has drawn criticism from regional and international organisations.

The African Union Commission strongly condemned the killings as a grave violation of human rights and reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on terrorism and violent extremism.

Amnesty International and other rights groups have also urged thorough investigations and improved protection for civilians in conflict-prone areas.

Kwara has been increasingly affected by violence linked to armed groups, including jihadist factions and bandit gangs, spreading from Nigeria’s north-central and north-western regions.

Analysts say these groups have taken advantage of limited security presence in remote border communities, exacerbating fears among residents about future attacks.