Nigeria sets up new military operation after deadly attack, while abducted Christians return home

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigerian government has announced a military operation to tackle Islamic militants following the killing of scores of people, likely all Muslims. Meanwhile, about 180 Christians who were abducted elsewhere last month have been released.

Local officials said 162 people were killed during a Tuesday attack in the Muslim-majority villages of Woro and Nuku in Kwara state, many of them reportedly for resisting extremist ideology. It is one of the deadliest attacks in the country outside of the known conflict hot spots.

The gunmen razed homes and looted shops in what Amnesty International’s Nigeria office called “a stunning security failure.” No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but locals and officials have pointed to various Islamic militant groups.

A statement from the Nigerian presidency noted the attackers killed the villagers for rejecting “their obnoxious attempt at indoctrination, choosing instead to practice Islam that is neither extreme nor violent.”

Experts say that Kwara, which has seen a recent spike in deadly attacks and kidnappings, is fast becoming a new frontier for armed groups seeking to expand in Africa’s most populous country, where numerous violent groups are vying for space and power.

James Barnett, a researcher at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, said armed groups have been going farther afield because they are finding a lot of competition from rival groups in the areas where they traditionally operated.

Christians kidnapped last month are now all free

Separately, on Thursday, the Kaduna state governor announced that all 183 Christians taken in three simultaneous church abductions last month have been released. Of the abducted, 89 of them were rescued on Wednesday, according to the governor. He gave no details, although analysts say sometimes the government pays a ransom.

The reported figure at the time of the abductions from local residents and advocacy groups was 168 people.

“Following this incident, I approached the president and the national security adviser on the need to establish a military base … particularly around the Regina general area, which has long been identified as a flashpoint,” Gov. Uba Sani said in a speech.

Actions to protect “defenseless” communities

Kwara State Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said Tuesday’s attack was likely carried out in response to recent counterterrorism operations in the region. Some similar operations have been possible due to intelligence provided by local communities.

The killings also could serve to intimidate other communities and make them more likely to comply with militants’ demands.

President Bola Tinubu’s office said in a statement late Wednesday that a Nigerian army battalion will be deployed to Kwara’s Kaiama area, where the attack happened. Kaiama has had a limited security presence until now.

Tinubu said the new military command will spearhead Operation Savannah Shield to “protect defenseless communities,” the statement read.

In November last year, Tinubu announced a state of emergency on security and planned to recruit police officers in response to mass abductions across the country. The plan also included the deployment of forest guards.

Communities and some state governments across northern Nigeria have been entering into security pacts with armed groups to forestall killings, as military efforts have failed to curtail the spread of the attacks, but these have not always been successful.

Analysts say not enough has been done by the government to tackle the insecurity, as the military is stretched fighting armed groups in every region of the country, with little done in terms of obtaining modern weapons and intelligence gathering.

U.S. President Donald Trump has alleged without evidence that Christians are the primary targets in Nigeria. While Christians have been among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria’s north, where most attacks occur.

Despite their initial disagreements, the U.S. administration has since carried out airstrikes targeting Islamic militants in parts of the country as part of wider security efforts in partnership with the Nigerian military. A small team of American officers are also on the ground in Nigeria.

In comments on Thursday in Washington, Trump doubled down on his assertion that the militant groups were primarily killing Christians.

“We knocked the hell out of them the other day in Nigeria because they were killing Christians,” Trump said.