TRAGEDY IN WORO: VILLAGER RECOUNTS NARROW ESCAPE AS ARMED RAIDERS EXECUTE RESIDENTS IN BLOODY ATTACK
By David Adelaja –A peaceful community in Kwara State was plunged into mourning and terror on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, after a brutal massacre carried out by armed militants. The raid, which occurred in the late afternoon, has left several families devastated and the local population reeling from the violence.
Among the survivors is Idusogie Osaro Patrick, a young man who had sought refuge in Woro following the death of his father in 2021. Patrick, who had been living under the care of his uncle, survived the onslaught but is now grappling with the loss of the man who had become his guardian and father figure.
According to Patrick, the violence began at approximately 5:00 p.m. when armed men, identified by witnesses as jihadist raiders, descended upon the village.
“They arrived suddenly and began rounding people up,” Patrick recounted, still visibly shaken by the events. “They were shouting, demanding that we renounce our ways and embrace Sharia law. There was no room for negotiation. They tied the hands of the villagers behind their backs before executing them in cold blood.”
Patrick, who managed to escape the encirclement, watched in horror as the gunmen carried out their systematic slaughter. Among those lost in the carnage was his uncle, who stood by him in his time of grief following his father’s passing five years ago.
“I don’t know how I made it out,” he said. “I was lucky, but my uncle—the man who took me in when I had nowhere else to go—is gone. They took him from me.”
The attack has sent shockwaves through the region, sparking widespread fears regarding the security of rural communities in Kwara State. Local residents describe the scene as a massacre, noting that the attackers showed no mercy to those who refused to submit to their ideological demands.
Security forces have been alerted to the incident, and investigations are reportedly underway to determine the origins of the raiding party. However, for the people of Woro, the damage is already done. As the community begins the painful process of identifying the victims and preparing for burials, the trauma of the Feb. 3 attack leaves a dark cloud over the future of the village.
Local leaders are calling on the state and federal government to deploy immediate security reinforcements to the area, citing the vulnerability of remote settlements to such extremist incursions.
For Idusogie Osaro Patrick, the tragedy marks a double misfortune—having lost his father in 2021 and now losing his uncle to an act of senseless violence. He remains a harrowing witness to one of the most brutal attacks the region has seen in recent years.
