A heavy silence has fallen over Woro village after suspected jihadist gunmen killed at least 162 people, burned homes and abducted dozens in one of Nigeria’s deadliest attacks in recent months.
A heavy silence hangs over Woro, a small Muslim-majority village in west-central Nigeria, where charred homes, burned vehicles and shallow graves now mark the aftermath of a devastating attack by suspected jihadist gunmen. At least 162 people were killed during the late Tuesday night assault, according to the Red Cross, while dozens were injured and at least 38 people, mostly women and children, were abducted, local officials said. The search for additional bodies was still ongoing as of Thursday.
Among the survivors is Salihu, the traditional chief of Woro, who lost two sons in the attack while his wife and three daughters were abducted. Recounting the assault, he said the gunmen stormed the community around dusk, torching shops and homes as residents tried to flee. “Around 5:00 pm, the gunmen just came in and started shooting,” Salihu told AFP, adding that many people were trapped inside burning buildings. “All those shops that are within the road, they burnt them… Some people have been burned inside their houses.” He said he survived by hiding before fleeing to the neighbouring town of Kaiama, noting that the violence continued into the early hours. “The attack lasted until 3:00 am,” he said. “When the day breaks, the corpses we see, it’s too much.”
A visit to Woro on Thursday showed the village almost completely deserted, with only a few men seen combing through debris to recover bodies and bury the dead. Entire neighbourhoods had been reduced to ash and rubble, and burned-out vehicles littered the dirt roads. For many residents, the trauma remains overwhelming, including 60-year-old Muhammed Abdulkarim, who said he initially mistook the attackers for security personnel. “Then I realised they were bandits,” he recounted.