75 bodies recovered after indiscriminate attacks in central Nigeria

At least 75 bodies have been recovered after gunmen attacked two villages in Nigeria's central Kwara State earlier this week, local officials said late Wednesday.



Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who visited Kaiama Local Government Area on Wednesday night with security chiefs and cabinet members, said 75 people had been killed in the Woro and Nuku communities. He described the victims as local Muslims and said they were attacked after refusing to submit to extremists preaching what he called a "strange doctrine."



The gunmen rode on motorcycles and wreaked havoc in the two communities by shooting indiscriminately at residents while also razing some houses, local sources told Xinhua.



A senior military officer who accompanied the governor on an on-the-spot assessment of the affected villages said the death toll could rise as search-and-rescue operations continued.



Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has identified the Boko Haram terror group as being responsible for the attacks and ordered the deployment of an army battalion to Kaiama Local Government Area, said a statement by the State House late Wednesday.