A fresh terrorist assault in Kwara North claimed the lives of civilians on Monday, compounding a deepening security crisis just days after a high‑profile visit by Vice President Kashim Shettima to the region. Armed assailants attacked Gidan Sani village, a farming community close to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp, killing a woman and her two children and leaving at least one local man critically wounded.
According to residents, the attackers, believed to be linked to an Islamist militant group expanding operations into the Middle Belt, entered the village without warning. The deceased and the injured were civilians with no known security affiliations. Local farmers who survived described a surge of fear as the assailants opened fire on homes and byways leading to the NYSC camp perimeter.
The assailants fled before security reinforcements could arrive. A seriously wounded farmer, Mr. Alhaji Abdullahi, was rushed to a hospital in Tsaragi town, where community leaders say he remains under intensive care.
President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack, branding it “cowardly and barbaric” in an official statement issued late Monday. He reiterated the federal government’s stance that Nigeria will not tolerate attempts to impose extremist rule through violence. “This attack targeted villagers who had rejected attempts to impose extremist rule,” the President said, stressing that communities must not be coerced into fear.
The President has ordered the deployment of an additional army battalion to Kwara North to bolster existing security architecture after a wave of recent terror incidents. In his statement, Tinubu affirmed that the deployment was intended to “stem further attacks and protect remote communities,” underscoring federal urgency to check the spread of Islamist militancy beyond Nigeria’s northeast.
Local authorities and political leaders have amplified calls for intensified military operations in the affected axis. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq reiterated that additional troops were critical for stabilisation. The governor highlighted that recent expansions in military presence have helped restore calm in previously volatile spots but that “more security operatives must be deployed immediately to support the existing security architecture.”
The House of Representatives, through Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, condemned the violence in Kwara and other states, urging security forces to translate presidential orders into concrete results on the ground. “We condemn the gruesome and unfortunate attacks … The House is ready to provide legislative support where necessary,” Tajudeen said, signalling legislative backing for escalated security measures.
Opposition and civil society voices have also weighed in. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) criticised the government’s security strategy, asserting that “a government that cannot protect the lives of its citizens has failed in its most fundamental responsibility.” The party called for greater transparency around security policy and swift accountability for leadership failures.
The Southern Governors’ Forum, led by Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, likewise condemned the attacks, urging security agencies to pursue perpetrators aggressively. “This is senseless violence that must be nipped in the bud,” Abiodun said, emphasising that extremists must be “hunted down and dealt with severely.”
Despite official efforts, analysts warn that terror groups are increasingly mobile, fragmenting and dispersing fighters into previously less troubled regions such as Kwara. International reporting on related attacks in nearby communities has suggested that hundreds of villagers were killed in a single assault weeks ago, highlighting the deadly reach of these groups.
Communities near the NYSC camp — once considered relatively safe — now face an urgent call to re‑evaluate local emergency response plans. NYSC officials relocated the state’s main orientation facility to a more secure site in Ilorin last year after several security incidents in Kwara North, but the recent attack underscores that threats persist on the margins of official protection zones.
For families in Gidan Sani, the tragedy has reopened wounds and raised pressing questions about the safety of civilians in fringe communities. Women and children, who historically have been non‑combatants in Nigeria’s security landscape, are increasingly becoming targets, signalling a stark shift in tactics by militant groups.
Security experts contacted for this report warned that without decisive and coordinated military and intelligence efforts, attacks could proliferate unchecked. Civilian vigilance committees, while valuable, are not a substitute for professional security operations in areas threatened by well‑armed militants.
