Woro Massacre: Explain intelligence, air response failure — Olawepo-Hashim tells FG

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — Presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has called on the Federal Government and security authorities to explain what he described as intelligence and operational failures surrounding the recent mass killings in Woro community of Kwara State, warning that repeated response lapses are exposing rural Nigeria to unchecked attacks.

In a statement by Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, PDP presidential aspirant, the former presidential candidate demanded full operational disclosure from security agencies, including timelines of distress calls, deployment decisions, and the reasons no aerial intervention occurred during the assault.

“This killing is unprecedented in its scale and unmatched in its barbarity. I offer my condolences to the Woro community, but condolence is not enough this time around,” he said.

Olawepo-Hashim urged the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights to initiate an international probe into the incident, saying Nigerians deserve clarity on reports that intelligence warnings were allegedly received ahead of the attack but not acted upon.

“The killings in Woro have demonstrated how easy it is for any group of deranged men to take hundreds of lives without resistance,” he stated.

He also questioned the absence of emergency air support, arguing that the proximity of Nigerian Air Force installations makes claims of remoteness difficult to justify, particularly given the location of air assets along the Wawa–New Bussa corridor, which he said is within short flight distance of the affected community.

“I hear the unacceptable explanation that it takes hours to access the remote village. So what happened with the Air Force?” he asked.

Drawing comparisons with past regional military operations, the PDP chieftain said Nigeria’s armed forces had historically demonstrated rapid intervention capability both within and outside the country, raising concerns about what he described as inconsistencies in response to domestic attacks.

“The world needs to know why the Air Force that could fly to Benin Republic to save the Beninois President from mutiny could not save the Woro people within the same geographical axis,” he said.

He also called for clarification over reports that soldiers were initially deployed but later withdrawn despite alleged threat warnings sent to the community before the attack.

“Nigerians deserve to know who ordered that withdrawal and why,” he added.

Olawepo-Hashim said the delayed arrival of security personnel after the attackers had fled reflects a growing pattern that is widening the trust gap between citizens and the state, warning that continued failure to protect rural populations could push communities toward vigilante reprisals and unregulated armed groups.

“This is the tragedy of rural Nigeria today. Citizens are attacked, yet the state arrives after the attack, not during the attack,” he said.

He stressed that the Woro killings should be treated not as an isolated episode but as part of expanding insecurity across the North-Central corridor, particularly communities bordering Niger State and the Kainji Lake region, cautioning that failure to act decisively could transform Kwara State into a new frontline for banditry and rural terrorism threatening agriculture, livelihoods, and regional stability.

“When communities feel abandoned, they will begin to seek survival outside the state. That is how societies slide into deeper instability,” he warned.

He added that the government must urgently strengthen rural protection through rapid-response systems, aerial surveillance, helicopter deployment, and forward operating bases in vulnerable border communities, insisting that the country must not allow prolonged attacks to occur without immediate state intervention.

“Nigeria must not normalize massacres. If a village can be attacked for hours and the state still cannot respond, then we are facing a serious national emergency,” he said.

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