By Ademola Adekusibe
February 11, 2026
The Department of State Services (DSS), Kwara State Command, has issued a security alert warning of a planned attack on Gbabe community in Baruten Local Government Area, days after a deadly assault on Woro community in neighbouring Kaiama LGA left scores dead.
In a letter dated February 5, 2026, referenced S.122/1/1897 and addressed to the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, DSS State Director J.S. Adams detailed intelligence indicating a build-up of armed men suspected to be Mamuda elements around Kiyoru Settlement in Gwanara District.
“Report indicates possible threat of attack by armed group, on Gbabe Community, Gwanara District, Baruten Local Government Area, Kwara State. This stemmed from the build-up of armed men suspected to be Mamuda elements around Kiyoru Settlement, even as the villagers have expressed hostility towards the elements,” the letter read.
The DSS further referenced the violent history of armed groups operating around Kainji Lake National Park and urged immediate security measures to forestall attack.
The alert has heightened anxiety across the Kwara North axis, with residents of Baruten LGA on edge following the Woro massacre, where armed men reportedly killed scores and forced survivors to flee into neighbouring Niger State.
Emergency Security Meeting
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq convened an emergency security council meeting Monday night at Ahmadu Bello House, Ilorin, with all heads of security agencies in attendance.
“As part of our multi-layered response to the recent terrorist attack in Kaiama LGA, I summoned an emergency security council meeting… to review the security situation and strengthen coordinated efforts to neutralise emerging threats,” AbdulRazaq said.
Kogi Governor Usman Ododo and Ekiti Governor Biodun Oyebanji accompanied AbdulRazaq to visit Woro attack survivors receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ilorin.
“We stand in solidarity with the people of Kwara State over this unfortunate incident. The victims are stable but remain under close watch in the intensive care unit,” Oyebanji said.
OPC Declares Security Emergency
Meanwhile, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has called on governors of all Yoruba-speaking states, including South-West states, Kwara and Kogi, to immediately declare a state of emergency over escalating insecurity.
In a statement by Dr. Frederick Fasehun’s OPC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Kazeem Lawal, the group described the killing of over 100 persons in Woro and Nuku communities as “heartbreaking and provocative.”
Lawal insisted that jihadist terrorists responsible for the massacre must be hunted down and shot on sight by security agents, warning governors against politicising the crisis.
“Governors of the 10 Yoruba-speaking states must immediately declare a state of emergency on security to reflect the gravity of the situation. With these rampaging terrorists, bandits and jihadists and their activities, all Nigerians face an existential threat, and all hands must be mobilised to identify, locate and neutralise these evil monsters,” Lawal said.
He demanded a massive manhunt, prosecution and execution of the perpetrators, insisting: “Those who committed this dastardly act are not spirits.”
Security deployments have been reinforced in parts of Kaiama, but residents of Baruten LGA remain fearful as the region awaits whether the latest intelligence will be acted upon before another community falls.
