When the gunmen arrived in Woro and Nuku, two small farming villages in Nigeria’s Kwara state, they did not rush. They stayed for hours. They moved from house to house. They burned homes and shops. And inside a mosque, they used prayer as a trap.
Villagers say the attackers entered the mosque, announced the call to prayer, and waited. When people gathered, they opened fire. No one who turned up survived.
By the time the shooting ended, at least 162 people were dead, according to Nigerian authorities. Local residents say the true number is much higher. Many bodies were burned so badly they could not be counted. Others were taken away by the attackers and have not been seen since.
The killings lasted about 10 hours. No help came.
A warning that was not taken seriously
Weeks before the attack, residents say a letter was delivered to the villages. It warned that militants would return to spread a strict and violent form of Islam. The message was clear: obey or face punishment.
The villagers ignored it.
Woro and Nuku are mostly Muslim communities. Many residents say they rejected the militants’ teachings because they did not match their own beliefs or traditions. Life continued as normal.
Then, without warning, the gunmen came.
‘Life was normal. Then everything changed’
Umar Bio Kabir, a 26-year-old schoolteacher, remembers the moment he saw them.
He was playing football with friends in the evening. Motorbikes appeared at the edge of the village. Men with guns jumped off.
“We ran,” he said. “Not everyone escaped.”
Some of his friends were shot while trying to flee. Others were later found among the dead.
“God said I would survive,” Kabir said. “Otherwise, I would be among them.”
According to several residents, the violence continued through the night and into the next morning. Gunmen searched homes, dragged people outside, and shot them. In some cases, villagers were tied up, lined in rows, and executed with shots to the head.
Homes, food stores and shops were set on fire. The attackers showed no sign of fear or hurry.
‘No security came’
Residents say they were left completely alone.
“We did not see anybody,” said Iliyaus Ibrahim, a farmer. “From evening until morning.”
His brother was killed. His pregnant sister-in-law was kidnapped with her two children.
When contacted by phone, Kwara state police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi said security forces were present. She did not give details.
Villagers strongly deny this.
“If they came,” one resident said, “we did not see them.”
Burying the dead with too few hands
Two days after the attack, only about 20 men were left in the villages. Most women, children and elderly people had fled.
Those who remained faced a grim task: burying the dead.
Kabir helped load bodies onto pickup trucks. One day, two trucks were filled. The next day, more bodies were still waiting.
“We are not finished,” he said. “There are not enough people left.”
Some bodies lay in the open for days. Others were reduced to ashes inside burned homes.
The harmattan wind carried dust and ash through the empty streets. Zinc roofs knocked together in the breeze. The smell of smoke and blood hung in the air.
Survivors packed what they could onto bikes, taxis and trucks. Many said they would never return.
“Everyone who lived here has been killed,” said Zakari Munir, pointing at the ruins of homes.
Nigeria’s violence moves south
The attack in Kwara has shocked Nigeria. The state borders Benin and was once seen as relatively calm.
Security experts say the violence shows how Nigeria’s long conflict is spreading south.
For more than a decade, Nigeria has faced attacks from armed groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State affiliates. These groups began mainly in the north-east. Now they are appearing in new areas.
Military pressure in the north, along with fights between armed groups, has pushed fighters into new regions.
Nigeria now faces a mix of threats: local militias, criminal gangs known as bandits, and extremist groups with links across borders.
In recent years, fighters have crossed into Nigeria from neighbouring countries such as Niger. New groups have also emerged.
Thousands of people have been killed across the country. Many more have been displaced.
A crisis that is not just about religion
The attack has also renewed debate about religion and violence in Nigeria.
Former US president Donald Trump has accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians. The Nigerian government rejects this claim.
Analysts say the reality is more complex.
In Woro and Nuku, most victims were Muslim. They were killed not for their faith, but for refusing to follow the militants’ rules.
“These groups target anyone who resists them,” one security analyst said. “Faith does not protect you.”
Nigeria is a deeply divided country, with tensions over land, power, poverty and identity. Religion is often used by armed groups, but it is not the only cause of violence.
Government response under pressure
After the massacre, the Nigerian government announced a new military operation in Kwara state.
Last year, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on security and promised to recruit thousands more police officers.
Many Nigerians say the measures are not enough.
In rural areas, security forces are often far away. Villages have little warning and no protection when attacks begin.
“The state is absent,” said a community leader from the region. “People are left to die.”
‘When I did not hear his voice, I knew’
On Friday, survivors gathered in Kaiama, the nearest town, to pray for the dead.
Maryam Muhammed, 57, lost her husband and her home.
Her husband was responsible for the call to prayer at the mosque. During the attack, she was briefly taken by the gunmen and later released in the chaos.
At dawn, she went looking for him.
“When I did not hear his voice,” she said, “I knew there was trouble.”
She searched through burned bodies until she found him.
Now, like many others, she has nowhere to go.
Fear, anger and unanswered questions
Residents want to know why the warning letter was ignored. Why security forces did not act. And why help never came during the long night of killing.
They fear the attackers could return.
For now, Woro and Nuku are almost empty. Fields lie untended. Homes stand blackened and silent.
What happened there is not an isolated event. It is part of a wider failure to protect civilians in Nigeria’s growing conflict.
As one survivor said quietly: “If this can happen here, it can happen anywhere.”
Discussion about this post