The traditional ruler of Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, Alhaji Salihu Umar, has said authorities are yet to determine the exact number of worshippers killed inside a church during Tuesday’s terrorist attack that claimed over 160 lives.
Speaking on News Central TV, the village head revealed that many Christian worshippers were burnt alive when terrorists locked them inside the church and set it on fire.
“There are some who were burned down in the church. Some, they locked them inside their rooms and set it on fire. Those who were burned inside the church, we cannot identify some,” Salihu said.
He confirmed that a warning letter from the terrorists (Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’adati wal-Jihad – JAS, the main Boko Haram faction now led by Bakura Doro) was received weeks earlier, dated 19 Rajab 1447 (January 8, 2026).
The letter, written in Hausa, requested a “secret” meeting with community leaders for preaching and guidance, insisting it was “not a threat or declaration of war.”
Salihu said he immediately forwarded the letter to the Department of State Services (DSS) in Kaiama, the Kaiama Emirate Council, and other relevant authorities.
Despite the early alert, the attackers struck on Tuesday evening, operating for several hours with no immediate security intervention.
The state government, through Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, attributed the massacre to Islamic fundamentalists angered by the community’s refusal to adopt their “strange doctrine.” The governor confirmed 75 deaths (though residents dispute the figure, insisting it exceeds 100) and announced the deployment of an army battalion under Operation Savannah Shield.
Salihu’s account adds to growing evidence of delayed response despite prior warnings, with survivors and community leaders alleging that security agencies failed to act on intelligence about armed strangers in nearby forests months before the attack.
The incident has intensified scrutiny of security lapses in the volatile Kwara-Niger border region, where extremist groups continue to exploit remote areas for recruitment and operations.
