Africa-Press. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu ordered the deployment of military forces to the country’s central-western area following the bloody attack on the village of Woro, which killed at least 162 people. The president accused Boko Haram of being behind one of the deadliest massacres Nigeria has witnessed in recent months.
In a statement, the president’s special office announced the dispatch of a military battalion to the town of Kaiama in eastern Kwara State as part of an operation named “Savannah Shield,” aimed at “neutralizing terrorists and protecting local communities that have become unable to defend themselves.”
Commenting on the attack, President Tinubu said residents of the area had “shown commendable courage,” explaining that community members, despite being Muslims, refused “to submit to a foreign doctrine that calls for violence instead of peace and dialogue.”
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq visited Kaiama on Wednesday evening to support residents. In a video clip, he said the village of Woro refused to be drawn into the path that extremist groups were trying to impose by force.
Nigeria—the most populous African country and the continent’s largest oil producer—has faced a persistent insurgency since 2009 in the northeast led by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, alongside armed-group activity in the northwest and north-central regions, and other local movements such as Lakurawa.
International concern has grown over the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria. U.S. President Donald Trump has said Christians in the country are facing “genocide” at the hands of “terrorist groups,” but the Nigerian government and most experts deny this, stressing that violence affects Muslims and Christians alike.
In a related development, the U.S. military carried out airstrikes in Sokoto State on Christmas Day, saying they targeted Islamic State elements. Since then, the United States has strengthened cooperation with Nigeria by supplying weapons, sharing intelligence, and deploying a team of U.S. service members to support the Nigerian army.
