Islamic extremists behind Kaiama killings – Kwara Gov

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has said Islamic extremists were responsible for the recent mass killings in parts of the state.

At least 75 residents were killed and several houses destroyed when terrorists attacked Nuku and Woro communities in Kaiama Local Government Area earlier this week.

Kwara Police Command spokesperson, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said the attack started around 6pm on Tuesday.

Speaking after the incident, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Rauf Ajakaye, told TheCable that the victims were moderate Muslims targeted for “refusing to surrender to extremists who preached a strange doctrine”.

Addressing religious and security leaders at the Government House, AbdulRazaq said the affected communities were attacked for rejecting extremist ideology.

“From the information we’ve been getting, this village refused to succumb to a perverted form of Islamic doctrine,” AbdulRazaq said.

“They aligned under the emirate, abiding by the Islamic faith. They didn’t want an alteration to how they pray to God, how they pray to Allah. Because they refused a change in the doctrine, they were attacked and massacred.

“It’s different from what we used to see when persons were kidnapped for ransom. But this was just a pure massacre and should be condemned.”

Following the attack, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered the immediate deployment of an army battalion to the affected area.

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Wednesday night, said the new military command will lead Operation Savannah Shield aimed at tackling the terrorists and protecting vulnerable communities.

Onanuga said the President condemned the attack, describing it as “cowardly and beastly”, while also labelling the gunmen as “heartless for choosing soft targets in their doomed campaign of terror.”