• 170 feared dead in Kwara as residents comb bushes for missing kin
• Senate orders military, police surge in Katsina after dozens killed in 24 hours
• Saraki brands Kwara killings national emergency, urges Tinubu to deploy troops
• Katsina govt visits Faskari as Doma attack leaves at least 25 dead
• PDP faults Kwara gov’s response, seeks urgent relief for victims
• Emir warns forest-border communities under siege
• Security agencies deploy operatives as casualty figures remain uncertain

A SPATE of coordinated bandit attacks across Kwara and Katsina states has left hundreds feared dead, communities in ruins and thousands traumatised, sparking urgent calls for military intervention from lawmakers, political leaders and traditional rulers.

About 170 casualties were recorded in Tuesday’s attack by armed bandits on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Council, according to Kwara State lawmaker Saidu Ahmed.
Ahmed, who confirmed the figure in a phone call yesterday, said several bodies were still being recovered after what he described as the deadliest assault in the area in recent times.

“As I am speaking to you now, I am in the village along with military personnel, sorting dead bodies and combing the surrounding areas for more,” he said.

He added that many residents remained missing as of yesterday morning.
Similarly, suspected bandits stormed Doma community in Tafoki Ward, Katsina State, on Tuesday afternoon, killing several residents, injuring many others and setting vehicles and houses ablaze.
There were conflicting figures over the casualty toll, with police putting the number of deaths at 13, while the executive chairman of Faskari Local Council estimated more than 20.

However, independent sources said over 25 people, including women and children, lost their lives, with almost the same number still unaccounted for as of yesterday morning. Some residents were said to be combing nearby bushes in search of bodies.
Victims described as “more than 20” were buried on Tuesday evening at a cemetery in Tafoki, according to Islamic rites.

Senate seeks military, police reinforcements in Katsina
The Senate yesterday passed a resolution urging urgent military and police reinforcement in Katsina State following a wave of bandit attacks that left dozens dead within 24 hours, mainly in the Funtua Zone.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance under Order 42, sponsored by Senator Dandutse Mohammed (Katsina South), who drew lawmakers’ attention to the worsening security situation and called for swift federal intervention.

Presiding over plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio admitted the motion for debate after it received overwhelming support from senators.
Moving the motion, Dandutse said Katsina had been deeply shaken by a recent ambush on personnel of the Nigerian Police Mobile Force in Guga, Bako Local Council, during which three policemen were killed and two others critically injured.

He further disclosed that coordinated attacks across the Funtua Zone had claimed at least 35 lives — 24 in Faskari, eight in Bakori, two in Funtua and one in Kankara — all within less than 24 hours.
The senator warned that the violence had forced more than 50,000 farmlands to remain uncultivated, threatening food security, agricultural productivity and livelihoods in the region.
Dandutse recalled that the Katsina State governor, alongside elders from the Funtua Zone, had earlier visited President Bola Tinubu over insecurity.

“During the visit, the President pledged to establish a military barracks in Malumfashi to secure the zone,” he said.

He lamented that criminals continued to exploit porous corridors linking Katsina with neighbouring states, including the Zamachi–Kanduse and Magami–Asuwa axes in Kaduna State, Power Hill in Kankara and the Zamfara corridor.
Warning against inaction, the lawmaker said failure to act could lead to mass displacement, collapse of rural livelihoods and long-term psychological trauma for residents. He urged communities to remain united and supportive of security efforts while resisting internal collaborators.

The Senate resolution urged Tinubu to fulfil his pledge to establish the Malumfashi military barracks, directed the Inspector-General of Police to equip the newly established police squadron with at least three Armoured Personnel Carriers, and called on the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and NEMA to provide immediate relief to affected families. Lawmakers also observed a one-minute silence in honour of those killed.

Seconding the motion, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibril said the Federal Government had already directed the military to intensify operations, particularly in the Funtua axis. While commending the military and Katsina State Government, he stressed the need for increased troop strength, improved technology and decisive action.

“The military is doing well, the governor is doing well, but we need to do more. This is a very fertile agricultural area that can feed the nation. We cannot allow bandits to continue killing people daily,” he said.

Other senators described the motion as timely, noting that insecurity in Katsina threatened national food security, while calling for intensified military operations nationwide and cautioning against negotiating with bandits.

In his closing remarks, Akpabio acknowledged lawmakers’ frustration over persistent insecurity, assuring that the National Assembly would prioritise increased funding for the military in the 2026 budget. He also advocated the use of modern technology, including drones, to secure hard-to-reach areas, warning against collaboration with criminals and pledging that the chamber’s resolutions would be followed up with the executive to ensure timely action.
Saraki urges Tinubu to intervene as dozens killed in Kwara bandit attacks
Also, national leader of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the worsening insecurity across Kwara State, particularly in the Northern and Southern senatorial districts.

Saraki described Tuesday’s killings in Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Council as a national disaster.
In a statement signed by his Press Officer on Local Matters, Abdulganiyu Abdulqadir, Saraki said the security situation in the state had gone beyond the capacity of the state government, urging the President to personally direct security agencies to form an inter-agency intervention team to flush out bandits in Kwara and neighbouring states.

“What we require now to stop this mass destruction of lives and property in our state and to restore harmony is the decisive and direct intervention of President Tinubu,” he said.
He also called on the Commander-in-Chief to instruct the Second Mechanised Infantry Division, Ibadan to deploy troops fully to troubled districts of the state and establish bases in affected areas.

“There is also the need for other security agencies to work together and maintain a strong presence across our state. That is the only way we can deter these assailants,” he added.

Saraki warned that insurgents fleeing military pressure in other North Central states must not be allowed to find refuge in Kwara, describing the state as too strategic to permit insurgency to gain ground.
He expressed sympathy with residents of Woro, especially families who lost loved ones, and urged authorities not to limit their response to statements but to take concrete action to prevent further violence.

While calling on the federal government to act decisively, Saraki said the state government and local councils must also play their part, noting that Kwara, once known as the “State of Harmony”, was witnessing unprecedented killings, arson and displacement.

“This attack in Woro is a national emergency. What these criminals did in Woro was to wage war against Nigeria. It is a war the country must win, without delay,” he said.
CONTACTED for comment on the Kwara tragedy, police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi said security agencies had been deployed to the affected communities for search-and-rescue operations.

“The information available to the command is that efforts are ongoing to ascertain the number of casualties at the moment,” she said.

“We saw that houses were destroyed and many residents were shot. But things have been relatively calm as the command is closely monitoring the situation.”

The attackers reportedly stormed Woro and Nuku communities at about 6:00 p.m., firing sporadically and setting several houses ablaze.
Also, the Katsina State Government yesterday dispatched a high-powered delegation to Faskari Local Council to assess the impact of Tuesday’s bandit attack, in which at least 25 people were killed.

The team, led by the Secretary to the Government of the State, Abdullahi Garba Faskari, left Government House, Katsina, at about 10:00 a.m., accompanied by heavily armed military personnel.

Officials said the delegation would meet community leaders to convey the government’s sympathy, assess the extent of damage and explore possible assistance for affected residents.
Confirming the attack, the council chairman, Surajo Aliyu, described it as a reprisal and the deadliest incident in the area in recent months.

“This attack is a reprisal, and it is a deadly one indeed because we had never had such an attack in the last five months in this area as it is today (Tuesday),” he said.

Aliyu added that the attackers operated unhindered, killing residents and destroying property before fleeing.

“At least 20 people were killed. They burnt cars and houses during the dastardly attack. We reported the incident to security personnel, but unfortunately, they could not arrive before the bandits carried out their heinous act.

“We sympathise with the people of Doma, Tafoki Ward, Faskari, and indeed the entire people of Katsina State, especially the bereaved families. May God bring an end to these senseless killings,” he said.

The Katsina State Police Command also confirmed the incident but maintained that 13 people were killed.
In a statement, the command’s spokesperson, DSP Abubakar Aliyu, said: “On February 3, 2026, at about 2:00 p.m., a distress call was received at Faskari Division that suspected armed bandits, shooting sporadically, attacked Doma village, Faskari Local Council, Katsina State.

“Upon receipt of the report, the DPO mobilised operatives, in collaboration with the military and members of the Katsina State Community Watch Corps, to the scene. Unfortunately, the assailants fatally shot 13 persons and escaped before the arrival of operatives.

“Normalcy has since been restored to the affected area, while investigations have commenced with a view to arresting the perpetrators.”

The Commissioner of Police, CP Bello Shehu, commiserated with the families of the victims and condemned the attack, directing the deployment of additional resources to aid investigation and apprehension of those responsible.

Kwara PDP faults response to Kaiama attack, calls for urgent relief for victims
The Peoples Democratic Party in Kwara State has criticised Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s reaction to the recent bandit attack on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Council, describing it as cosmetic and lacking concrete reassurance for victims.

In a statement issued in Ilorin yesterday, the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara, described the attack as “gruesome, despicable, inhuman and callous”, adding that a former Students’ Union president of a tertiary institution in the state was among those killed.

“This is a wicked act that no human should ever inflict on fellow human beings,” the party said.

The PDP said the incident once again exposed what it described as the failure of the state government to effectively tackle insecurity, insisting that Kwara required far more than “propaganda, photo-ops and hollow sympathy messages” to confront insurgency and banditry.

“This incident is yet another reminder that what Kwara urgently needs is decisive, practical and people-oriented leadership,” the statement read.

Adewara said the governor’s official communication on the attack was “merely cosmetic and completely lacking in hope or concrete reassurance for the wounded victims and the devastated community”.
The party argued that a responsive government would have taken immediate steps to support those affected.

“A responsible government would have ordered the immediate deployment of humanitarian relief and medical emergency services to assist the victims and help the community cope with this painful tragedy,” it added.
The PDP also accused the governor of presenting what it called a distorted picture of the security situation in the state.

“Unfortunately, the governor’s statement is riddled with self-adulation and a misleading portrayal of security in Kwara State,” it said, maintaining that insecurity remained widespread.

“As at press time, citizens are still being kidnapped and villages continue to suffer attacks, despite repeated claims that insurgents are being decimated,” it stated.

Emir decries bandit attacks in Kwara North, mourns Woro, Nuku victims
The Emir of Yashikira, Kwara State, Alhaji Umoru Seriki, has condemned the spate of violent attacks on communities in the Kwara North Senatorial District, describing the killings and destruction of property as senseless.

The monarch spoke following Tuesday’s assault on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Council, during which armed bandits reportedly set properties ablaze and killed several residents.
While commiserating with the people of Woro and Nuku communities, the monarch also extended condolences to the Emir of Kaiama, Alhaji Omar Shehu Muazu Kiyaru II, and prayed for the eternal rest of the deceased as well as lasting peace in Kwara State.

Lamenting the situation, Seriki said communities sharing boundaries with forests and neighbouring states were bearing the brunt of the attacks.

“It is only God that can save us. It is not happening in Kaiama alone, but in all communities sharing common boundaries with the forests, Niger State and Sokoto State,” he said.

“Yashikira is facing frequent attacks, just as other communities are also under massive attacks by armed bandits. We don’t know what we have done or what sin we have committed to warrant the constant deadly attacks on our communities.”