“They Bound Their Hands and Shot Them”: Horror in Kwara as New ‘Lakurawa’ Terror Group slaughters 162 Villagers

ILORIN — A wave of horror has swept through western Nigeria after a new and deadly terror group, identified as “Lakurawa,” massacred at least 162 people in a coordinated assault on two villages in Kwara State.

The attack, which occurred on Tuesday evening in Woro and Nuku villages (Kaiama Local Government Area), marks one of the bloodiest days in Nigeria’s recent history and signals a dangerous expansion of terror cells into the previously peaceful North Central region.

Survivors recount a scene of absolute carnage. The gunmen, riding on motorcycles, did not just shoot sporadically; they executed a calculated mass murder.

The “Execution” Style

According to Mohammed Omar Bio, the lawmaker representing the area, the attackers adopted a chilling execution style.

• The Method: Witnesses report that the terrorists rounded up residents, bound their hands behind their backs, and shot them at point-blank range.
• The Destruction: After the slaughter, they set fire to the traditional ruler’s palace, the local market, and dozens of residential homes, leaving the communities in ruins.
• The Victims: The death toll currently stands at 162, but search teams are still recovering bodies from the surrounding bush where many fled with gunshot wounds.

Who are the “Lakurawa”?

Security analysts are sounding the alarm over the perpetrators. Unlike the familiar bandits or Boko Haram factions, this attack has been attributed to the Lakurawa, a jihadist group with alleged links to ISIS (Islamic State) that recently infiltrated Nigeria from the Sahel region (Niger Republic).
“They preached to the villagers first,” a survivor told reporters. “They demanded we reject the Nigerian state and accept Sharia law. When the youths pushed back, the slaughter began.”

Governor: “A Cowardly Act”

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has condemned the massacre as a “cowardly expression of frustration.” In a statement released on Wednesday, the Governor linked the violence to the pressure military forces are exerting on terror cells in the North West, pushing them into “softer” targets in Kwara.

“We will not surrender our state to criminals,” the Governor vowed, announcing the immediate deployment of a reinforced military task force to the Kaiama border axis.

A Bloody Tuesday Across the North

The Kwara massacre was not an isolated incident. On the same bloody Tuesday, gunmen struck Doma village in Katsina State (North West), killing 13 people despite ongoing peace deals with local bandit warlords.

The coordinated nature of these attacks has raised fears that terror groups are launching a “dry season offensive” to overwhelm Nigeria’s stretched security forces.

As mass burials begin in Woro and Nuku today, the question on every lip is: How did a terror column large enough to kill 160 people move undetected into Kwara State?