Nearly 200 people were killed in separate attacks by armed gunmen on remote communities in central and northern Nigeria, authorities, residents and police said on Wednesday, as security forces launched search-and-rescue operations and pursued the attackers.
In central Kwara state, gunmen stormed the Woro community on Tuesday, killing at least 170 people, according to local lawmaker Saidu Baba Ahmed. The attack was described as the deadliest recorded this year in the area, which borders Niger state and has seen a surge in violent raids.
Ahmed said the attackers rounded up residents, tied their hands behind their backs and executed them before setting homes and shops on fire. Villagers fled into nearby bushland as the assault unfolded. The lawmaker shared photographs of bodies from the scene, which could not immediately be independently verified.
“As I speak to you now, I am in the village with military personnel, sorting through the dead and combing surrounding areas for survivors,” Ahmed said, adding that several residents were still missing.
Police confirmed that “scores” of people were killed in the Kwara attack but did not provide an official death toll.
Residents told Reuters the attackers, believed to be jihadists who had previously preached in the area, demanded that villagers abandon allegiance to the Nigerian state and adopt Sharia law. When locals resisted, the gunmen opened fire, residents said.
In a separate incident in northern Katsina state, gunmen killed at least 21 people after moving from house to house and shooting residents, according to locals and police. The raid shattered a six-month peace agreement between the community and the armed group.
The Katsina attack underscored the difficult choices facing residents in Nigeria’s remote northern regions, where some communities have entered informal pacts with armed gangs, often providing food or money in exchange for temporary protection.
Meanwhile, police reported an additional attack in the northern city of Kano, though details were limited.
Nigeria remains under intense pressure to restore security amid persistent militant violence, kidnappings and communal attacks. The government has denied accusations of systematic religious persecution and says it is working with international partners, including the United States, to improve security nationwide.