On Tuesday, February 3rd, over 160 people were left dead following a violent massacre in the villages of Woro and Nuku, located in Kwara State in western Nigeria. It is the deadliest and most brutal attack in a series of assaults Nigeria has faced over the past decade, intensifying security concerns in Africa’s most populous country.
Residents of the villages were directly targeted by gunmen who set houses on fire and killed people as they attempted to flee. Over 160 bodies have been recovered and some people are still missing or being treated for serious injuries.
Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, believes those responsible for the massacre are members of Boko Haram, a jihadist militant organisation that has operated in northern Nigeria for approximately 16 years. At the same time, other armed groups are operating in Nigeria alongside Boko Haram, making an efficient security response more difficult for the local authorities. Violent conflicts in Nigeria include separatist movements, religiously motivated militant groups, and disputes between ethnicities. In this instance, authorities had been warned by residents of the villages stating that the jihadist militant group was moving westwards, having previously operated mostly in the North of the country. Nigerian analysts claim the massacre was an act of revenge against villagers for informing authorities about the group’s location.
The incident renewed criticism of the Nigerian army’s ability to destabilise the jihadist movement and counter militant operations more broadly. In response to the rising violence, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to engage in a military operation in Nigeria to fight Islamist groups, in support of the Christian communities affected by religiously motivated violence. This operation will avoid combat and instead deploy 200 U.S. troops to train the Nigerian army in fighting terrorism. A few days before the massacre, Trump spoke of what he considers to be a “Christian genocide” in the West African nation.
While Nigeria has faced numerous politically motivated attacks resulting in the deaths of over 50,000 civilians over the last 17 years, the massacre in Kwara State was particularly violent. The death toll remains unconfirmed while search efforts for missing persons continue.
