THE gory pictures from the terror attack in Woro, Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, are heartrending.
AT the last count, 75 dead bodies had been recovered and Woro razed by invading terrorists on Tuesday evening.
KWARA State, like most parts of the North Central Region, has grappled with banditry and kidnapping for some time but the Kaiama attack was not just cruel criminality, the massacre was unfathomable.
THE terrorists did not attack for ransom as commonly known; the attackers were Muslim ideologues who killed fellow Muslims who would not submit to their hateful extremist ideology.
WE commend the swift response of the Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (CON) who raced to the crime scene even in the night time to assess the situation and offer condolences and safety assurances to the affected communities.
IT is also commendable that the Governor directed immediate provision of humanitarian services to the victims.
THE security chiefs who accompanied the Governor on the visit are now armed with firsthand information on the incident and should be well-guided on appropriate security measures to hunt down the attackers and forestall a reoccurrence.
IT is instructive that the terrorists struck in Kaiama as Kwarans celebrate the ongoing successful military onslaughts against bandits and kidnappers in parts of Kwara South and Kwara North Senatorial Districts.
A series of salutary coordinated security measures by the State, Federal and Local governments had led to significant decimation of the bandits’ cells across the affected parts of the State.
THE reign of terror has subsided in the notorious axis of evil in Ifelodun, Edu, Isin and other affected Local Government Areas that served as safe havens and launch pad for the criminals.
THE criminals are feeling the heat. The creation of a new Division of the Nigeria Army in Kwara South, the recruitment, training and deployment of Forest Guards by the State Government and the mobilisation of vigilantes and local hunters by the local governments have resulted in the clearance of the bandits from their notorious hideouts and fortresses.
IT is heartening that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the immediate deployment of the military forces code-named ‘Operation Savannah Shield’, to Kaiama.
THE 1000-strong force should take the battle quickly and forcefully to the terrorists’ fortress in Kainji Game Reserve forests in Niger State from where they mobilise and launch their terror attacks across the North Central region.
THE Bandits and Kidnappers are suffering defeats in their erstwhile strongholds. As the gallant soldiers and forest guards intensify their coordinated onslaughts, the criminals are in retreat from the notorious forests in Kwara South, Edu and Patigi Local Government Areas.
THE war against brainwashed religious extremists is harder to prosecute but with stronger intelligence gathering, stronger local policing and stronger well-coordinated firepower by our gallant forces, Kwara State would triumph.
TERRORISM should have no foothold in Kwara State.
