• President Tinubu ordered troops to Kaiama after attacks killed civilians

• Amnesty International reported at least 170 deaths in Kwara and Katsina states

• The deployment comes amid a broader surge in extremist violence nationwide

Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, said on Thursday that an army battalion had been deployed to the town of Kaiama, in Kwara State, following what he described as a “horrific attack on innocent villagers.”

Today, I met with the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq @RealAARahman, to be debriefed on the incident in Kaiama LGA.

I condemn in the strongest terms this cowardly and beastly attack. The gunmen are heartless for choosing soft targets in their doomed… pic.twitter.com/YmNFubb5fx

— Bola Ahmed Tinubu (@officialABAT) February 5, 2026

In a post on X, Mr. Tinubu said the new military command would lead Operation Savannah Shield, with the aim of neutralizing those responsible and protecting vulnerable communities.

He added that he had instructed federal and state agencies to work together to provide immediate assistance to the affected communities and to ensure that those behind this “atrocity” are identified, prosecuted, and brought to justice.

The deployment follows attacks carried out on Tuesday, February 3, in parts of Kwara and Katsina states. According to Amnesty International, armed men attacked the villages of Woro and Nuku in Kwara State, killing 170 people, burning homes, and looting shops. In Katsina State, the organization said at least 21 people were killed in related violence.

The governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, told Channels Television that the attackers had targeted a Muslim community because of its resistance to an extremist ideology.

Security remains one of Nigeria’s most pressing challenges. The country’s central and northwestern regions have been particularly affected by armed extremist groups, including Boko Haram and splinter factions such as the Islamic State West Africa Province.

Amnesty International strongly condemns the attacks on rural communities in Kwara and Katsina state on Tuesday 3 February 2026, in which gunmen killed about 200 people. Many of those killed were shot at close range. Some were burnt alive.

Gunmen attacked Woro and Nuku — two…

— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) February 4, 2026

The United Nations has said that mass kidnappings of schoolchildren, attacks on villages, and the taking of hostages in churches and mosques have once again drawn international attention to Nigeria’s security crisis. The situation took on a broader geopolitical dimension in December 2025, when the United States carried out airstrikes against jihadist positions in northern Nigeria, an operation Washington said was aimed at protecting threatened Christian communities.

In April 2025 alone, Nigeria recorded 570 deaths and 278 kidnappings, according to the National Human Rights Commission.

The escalation in violence prompted Mr. Tinubu to declare a nationwide security emergency, followed by orders for a large-scale recruitment drive that is expected to add nearly 50,000 personnel to the country’s security forces.

Lydie Mobio