The Kwara State government has been accused of preventing Vice President Kashim Shettima from visiting the Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area, where over 170 residents were reportedly killed in a deadly Boko Haram attack, SaharaReporters has learnt.
Multiple sources at the Kwara State Government House told SaharaReporters on Saturday that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq deliberately misled the Vice President by claiming that the journey to Woro community was too long and that he would not be able to return to Ilorin the same day.
According to the sources, this explanation was false and was merely used to conceal the deplorable condition of the road leading to the community.
Contrary to the claim of distance, sources explained that the real issue was the terrible state of infrastructure linking the area.
To get to Kaiama community from Ilorin, the state capital, travellers must pass through Igbeti and Kishi in Oyo State before entering Baruten Local Government Area and finally reaching Kaiama.
SaharaReporters gathered that virtually all the roads on this route are in extremely poor and dilapidated condition, making travel difficult and embarrassing for top government officials.
One senior government source, who expressed deep disappointment over the development, said the governor’s decision denied grieving families the rare opportunity of seeing the Vice President in their devastated community.
“Instead of allowing the Vice President to visit the community where over 170 people were slaughtered, the governor involved some stakeholders from the community and asked them to come to Ilorin to meet the Vice President,” the source said.
“What is the essence of coming to Kwara for a condolence visit and not going to the exact place where the incident occurred? Why can’t the Vice President be given a chopper to fly directly to the community if the government is truly concerned?”
Another source told SaharaReporters that the Emir of Kaiama, Alhaji Mu’azu Shehu Omar, and the Chairman of Kaiama Local Government Area, Abubakar Abdullahi Danladi, had been in Ilorin since Friday, waiting for the Vice President’s arrival.
“The Vice President was supposed to be in Ilorin yesterday, but his flight developed a fault, which made him come today,” the source explained. “The governor did not want him to see how deplorable the road is. That is why they lied to Shettima that he would not be able to return the same day if he travelled by road.”
The source questioned the sincerity of the state government, asking why alternative arrangements were not made.
“The question is, why did the governor fail to provide a chopper to convey the Vice President and his entourage to the community to sympathise with the people? Why prevent him from visiting the community if he is really concerned about the plight of the victims?”
According to the source, the Vice President’s stay in Ilorin was very brief. “I can tell you that the Vice President did not stay longer than 30 minutes before he left,” the source added.
Another source told SaharaReporters that Shettima, who was expected to visit Woro community to commiserate with residents, assure them of improved security, and promise that the perpetrators would be brought to justice, was unable to meet the affected people at all. Instead, he left Ilorin for Owerri to participate in activities marking Imo State’s 50th anniversary.
“This was supposed to be a condolence visit to a traumatised community, but the Vice President never got to see the people or speak to them directly,” the source said.
Lamenting what he described as the politicisation of tragedy, the source added, “These people are only after themselves, not the citizens. If they truly cared about the people, they would not use human lives to play politics. A country that values the lives of its citizens would not abandon them and leave them to their fate.”
Meanwhile, Shettima on Saturday visited Kwara State to commiserate with the government and people of the state over the deadly terrorist attack on Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area, describing the incident as an unacceptable assault on citizens’ right to peaceful religious practice.
Shettima, who was received by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the Ahmadu Bello House in Ilorin, said the scale of the carnage had shocked Nigerians, noting that the victims were peaceful residents who were practising their faith without provocation.
Speaking during the condolence visit, the Vice President said he was in the state on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to convey the Federal Government’s sympathy to the affected communities of Woro, Kaiama Local Government, and the entire people of Kwara State.
“Your Excellency, we are here at the behest of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to commiserate with you and the good people of Kaiama and Kwara State by extension over the tragedy that befell our communities of Woro and Nuku on the evening of Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026,” Shettima said.
He described the killings as deeply disturbing, stressing that the affected areas had for centuries been known for practising a tolerant and peaceful form of Islam.
“That tragic killing had shocked Nigerians because the victims were peaceful members of communities that were dedicated to building their peaceful livelihoods while they practised their religion in the peaceful and harmonious manner that the injunctions of Islam have instructed,” he added.
According to the Vice President, the Kaiama, Baruten and Batonu-speaking areas of the old Borgu axis—spanning parts of Kwara, Niger and Kebbi states and even extending into neighbouring Benin Republic—had historically coexisted peacefully until what he described as “an alien religious belief, alien to our history and tradition,” infiltrated the communities.
Shettima disclosed that a battalion of the Nigerian Army had been deployed to Kaiama and surrounding areas to flush out the perpetrators and prevent further attacks, assuring residents that security agencies were fully mobilised to restore peace.
He also revealed that President Tinubu had directed the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to mobilise resources, in collaboration with the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency, to support the affected communities.
Praying for the victims, Shettima asked Allah to grant the deceased Al-Jannah Firdaus and give their families the strength to bear the loss.
Responding, Governor AbdulRazaq thanked President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima for what he described as the swift and decisive response of the Federal Government to the tragedy, including the immediate deployment of soldiers and police tactical units.
“We appreciate you for coming to Kwara over the sad incident that happened in Woro, Kaiama Local Government. The response of the Federal Government has been very swift and we are grateful,” the governor said.
SaharaReporters previously reported that residents of Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State have accused Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s administration of ignoring repeated distress calls and security warnings months before Boko Haram-linked terrorists stormed the area and massacred no fewer than 170 people.
Multiple residents who spoke to SaharaReporters on Thursday said community members had consistently alerted traditional authorities, local government officials and the state government about the suspicious movement of armed strangers and their presence in nearby forests, but no meaningful action was taken.
According to two residents who spoke separately to SaharaReporters, youths in Kaiama had raised the alarm on several occasions after noticing unfamiliar armed men camping in bushes surrounding their communities.
“Before these attacks happened, our youths went to the traditional ruler many times to report that strange people were gathering inside the forest close to our villages,” one resident said.
“They did not only stop there. They also informed the local government council and the state government. Everybody knew, but nobody came to protect us.”
Another resident confirmed that the warnings were escalated to state and local authorities but were allegedly ignored.
“We reported to the state government and to the local government authorities that terrorists were around us. We begged them to deploy security operatives to clear the forests,” the resident said.
