There were a lot of people in Woro, Kaiama local government area of Kwara State on Tuesday, and it was a day of celebrations.
There was a major wedding ceremony going on in the community. Sunday Vanguard says that a lot of people came to the community, even though a lot of young people were also playing in a football tournament.
Before they attacked at 5 p.m., no one save the blood-sucking terrorists thought something bad was going to happen.
Ibrahim Farouk and Joshua Deme, both farmers, and Usman Bangoro, a miner, told our reporter about the terrible things they observed while they were in a hospital in Ilorin getting treatment.
According to survivors who have lived in the area for 15 years and were interviewed separately, the terrorists came on motorbikes. There were about 299 of them, with three people on each motorcycle, most of whom were about 15 years old. They stated it was a well-planned attack because some of the perpetrators also ringed the community. They reported that none of them had a cutlass since the attackers had weapons and bullets wrapped around their bodies.
People on motorcycles were firing at anyone they could see, and people who tried to get away were chased and shot dead. As people raced for safety, the terrorists also tossed bombs into homes and stores.
The survivors say that their objective was to kill everyone in Woro.On Friday morning, 35 more bodies were found in the woods next to the community.
Parts of the survivors’ horror: Ibrahim Farouk, a farmer
The assailants had sent a message saying they were coming to preach, but the leader of the community said no. We live in that neighborhood, and they came to our homes to hurt us. Some of us are farmers from different regions of the country, such Plateau, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Kaduna states.
We moved to the neighborhood to farm and have lived there for more than 15 years. They (the assailants) set fire to our homes. I almost died. I was riding my bike near to my house when someone stopped me. There were three of them riding their own bikes. One of the thieves told me to stop, but another told me to keep going. The third person, who had a gun, told me to halt so he could see if a bullet would go through my body. He shot me in the leg.
After shooting my thigh, they left me. After that, I was rescued with others and taken to the Ilorin hospital for treatment. We were all taken to Ilorin, but one of us was already released and some of us were taken to Kainji. The local administration sent an ambulance to convey the hurt people to Ilorin. Senator Sadiq Abubabar and Commissioner Bata have both been there.
Blood donation is what is keeping my limb from getting surgery. Two of the five of us who were carried to Ilorin need surgery on their thighs. Bullets went through and damaged their bones, while bullets brushed through the bodies of the other three. Six other people have been sent to Kainji General Hospital. All of the assailants had rifles, not cutlasses.
People who ran into their houses were burned along with the houses. There were no deaths among the people who were taken to the hospital. Most of them were caught up in the chaos while they were going to or from work. As of Friday, bodies of the dead are still being uncovered in the bush.
The assailants’ actions revealed that they didn’t know God or think they would perish. We had been living in peace until the bandits attacked on Tuesday night. Before they started shooting and attacking people, the bandits had surrounded the whole hamlet.
There were so many of them that I couldn’t count them. There were three people on each bike. There were a lot of people hurt since there was a wedding and youth activities like a football game.
The thieves utilized the communal car to take away 75 individuals, including women and children, who had been kidnapped. They even put a bomb on the Kaiama road, which went off when a truckload full of soybeans ran over it. The trailer caught fire. To stop banditry, the authorities should cut down and burn the trees next to the road so that everyone can see what’s within.
Joshua Deme is a farmer.
We live in a little town. I had to go into town to get detergent and drink Kunnu while I waited. At that point, we only heard gunfire now and then.
We went outdoors to see what was going on. Then we observed that there were thieves all around. Some of the younger ones were shooting, and some of the older ones were burning down houses. The people who shot were roughly 15 years old. The person who shot me was not even 15 years old. The old man who attacked me called me a witch because his gun wouldn’t shoot. This was after he shot and killed my friend. Then he told the young one to shoot me, brushing my stomach.
The older one told the younger one to shoot me again since I wasn’t dead. But the young one said I was dead because I wasn’t moving. People who tried to get away were chased on motorcycles and shot in the jungle. My wife and kids got away, so I’m lucky.
They are going home to Jos. I contacted them this morning. I hope I can get through this wound. I’ll join my wife and kids if I have the money. We found out that the bandits had carried a letter claiming they wanted to come and preach. The head of the Woro village took the letter to the Kaiama Emir, who told the police and other security services. For three days, soldiers were sent to the region and then left. But the bandits attacked three days after the guards left the area.
Usman Bangoro is a miner from Tambuwal, Sokoto State.
We mine in the community. I went to a location where we clean minerals. I just heard bullets fired. They were dressed like soldiers. You won’t believe they weren’t soldiers. But as you were running, they were shooting. God saved my life when I just escaped being shot.
The folks who attacked look thin and weak, yet they are dangerous. If they didn’t have firearms, I could have beaten them. They shot at anything they could see and from close range. The bullets went through my right leg and smashed my bone on the left. As a miner, I’ve lived in the area for more than ten years.
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