Gunmen have killed at least 162 people in west Nigeria attack, says Red Cross

Government blames ‘terrorist cells’ for attack in Woro village, one of country’s deadliest in recent months

Gunmen have killed at least 162 people in a village in Kwara state in western Nigeria, a Red Cross official has said, making it one of the deadliest attacks in recent months in the country, which has been plagued by interlinked security crises.

Armed gangs, known locally as bandits, who loot villages and kidnap for ransom, operate in swathes of the country, while jihadist groups are active in the north-east and north-west. Intercommunal violence is also prevalent in the central states.

“Reports said that the death toll now stands at 162, as the search for more bodies continues,” said Babaomo Ayodeji, the Kwara state secretary of the Red Cross, updating the earlier toll of 67.

Earlier, a local lawmaker in the Kaiama region, Sa’idu Baba Ahmed, said between “35 to 40 dead bodies were counted” after the massacre on Tuesday evening in Woro village.