Kaiama, Kwara State — Tuesday Night into Wednesday Morning
Nigeria sank deeper into grief and disbelief as Woro, a once-quiet community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, was turned into a killing field by suspected Sahel-linked terrorists in a carefully coordinated massacre that unfolded over two days.
What began as nightfall terror ended as a prolonged slaughter.
By the time the gunfire faded, dozens lay dead — among them two wives of the Emir of Woro, several of his children, the Chief Imam of the community, a school principal, a headmistress, and schoolchildren who had just returned home. Entire families were erased. Authority figures were deliberately silenced. Innocence was hunted down.
The Emir himself, Alhaji Saliu Bio Umar, has vanished.
His whereabouts remain unknown, raising chilling fears that he may have been abducted or executed. His palace was torched, reduced to flames that lit up the night sky — a symbolic destruction of both leadership and tradition.
Eyewitness accounts describe a force of over 200 heavily armed fighters storming Woro on Tuesday evening, moving with precision and confidence. Residents say the attackers showed no mercy, killing anyone in sight — villagers, travelers, farmers, traders, women, and children.
“They killed without asking questions,” one survivor said. “If they saw you, you were dead.”
People traveling through Woro were ambushed and butchered. Some victims had their throats slit. Others were gunned down as they fled. The attackers moved house to house, street to street, unchallenged for hours.
Security forces reportedly responded to distress calls but were overwhelmed by the sheer number and firepower of the attackers, forcing a tactical withdrawal to avoid total annihilation. That retreat left Woro defenseless.
The terrorists took full control.
Among the dead were members of the Emir’s immediate family, a deliberate act many residents interpret as a message: no one is untouchable.
The killing of the Chief Imam of Woro, a respected spiritual leader, shattered the community’s moral backbone. The execution of a school principal and headmistress, alongside students who had just returned from school, underscored the cruelty of the assault — education itself was treated as an enemy.
In one harrowing video circulating from the aftermath, anguished voices can be heard crying out that the Emir’s palace had been burned. Bodies lie motionless on the ground. Flames consume what once symbolized stability and authority.
The Emir’s official vehicle was reportedly seized and used by the attackers to transport abducted victims to unknown locations.
Survivors say the nightmare continued.
On Wednesday morning, the attackers returned. Those who had escaped the first wave — or who came back to search for loved ones — were hunted down and killed. The message was clear: survival was temporary.
A RETALIATION YEARS IN THE MAKING
Investigations point to a Sadiku-led Boko Haram faction, allegedly linked to broader Sahel terror networks, as the architects of the massacre.
Months before the attack, the group had reportedly tried to force Woro residents to attend extremist sermons and submit to radical ideology. The Emir refused. He resisted. He reportedly alerted military authorities, warning of coercion, intimidation, and the growing terror presence in the area.
That defiance may have sealed Woro’s fate.
Residents believe the massacre was calculated revenge — a brutal punishment for rejecting extremism and cooperating with the state.
For hours, terrorists ruled Nigerian territory without resistance.
Families were slaughtered. Leaders were erased. Children were murdered. A monarch disappeared.
And when it was over, Woro was left burning — physically and emotionally — while the nation woke up once again to familiar horror.
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