Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has deployed an army batallion to the western state of Kwara after gunmen killed at least 162 people in one of the country's deadliest attacks in recent months.
Tinubu condemned Tuesday's "beastly attack", which he said was carried out against villagers who had rejected extremist Islamist ideology.
"President Tinubu expressed rage that the attackers killed the community members who rejected their obnoxious attempt at indoctrination," a presidential statement said on Wednesday.
The main attack occured late Tuesday in Woro village, while another attack was reported in Nuku village.
Ayodeji Emmanuel Babaomo, the Red Cross secretary in Kwara State, said the death toll stood at 162, "as the search for more bodies continues".
He told French news agency AFP that gunmen had burned shops and a traditional ruler's home in Woro and that wounded people fled into the bushes.
Babaomo said the organisation has been unable to reach the communities where "scores of people were killed" because of the remoteness of the area – about eight hours from the state capital and near Nigeria’s border with Benin.
Conflicting casualty reports
Residents told Reuters news agency the gunmen, thought to be jihadists who often preached in the village, demanded that locals ditch their allegiance to the Nigerian state and switch to Sharia Islamic law. When the villagers pushed back, the militants opened fire.
Earlier, a local lawmaker in Woro, Sa'idu Baba Ahmed, gave an initial toll of 35 to 40 dead but said he expected more bodies would be found. He later put the death toll at more than 170.
The attack was confirmed by police, who did not give a casualty figure.
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While no group has yet claimed responsibility, the Kwara state governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq blamed "terrorist cells".
He said their attack as a "cowardly expression of frustration" in response to ongoing military operations against armed extremists in the state.
Mohammed Omar Bio, a member of parliament representing the area, told the Associated Press agency the attacks in Woro and Nuku were carried out by the Lakurawa, an armed group affiliated with the Islamic State group.
President Tinubu blamed the attack on Boko Haram jihadists.
Complex security crisis
Nigeria is in the grip of a complex security crisis, with an insurgency by Islamic militants in the north-east alongside a surge in kidnappings for ransom by gunmen across the north-west and north-central regions over recent months.
Last month, the military said it had launched "sustained coordinated offensive operations against terrorist elements" in Kwara State. Local media reported that the army had "neutralised" 150 bandits.
Jihadist attacks have intensified over the past year in Nigeria. The powerful Al-Qaeda affiliate Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) – which operates across the northern border in Niger – claimed responsibility for its first attack in Nigeria at the end of October, in Kwara State.
Researcher Brant Philip said the latest raid occurred very near the site JNIM attacked, suggesting a "direct overlap" between JNIM and Boko Haram, with the groups appearing to have a "loose alliance".
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US involvement
Nigeria is under pressure to restore security since US President Donald Trump accused it last year of failing to protect Christians after numerous Islamist attacks and mass kidnappings.
In response, Trump ordered US air strikes in December on IS group-affiliated militants in Nigeria.
On Tuesday, the head of US Africa Command said the US had sent a small team of military officers to Nigeria.
The Nigerian authorities say they are cooperating with Washington to improve security and have denied there is systematic persecution of Christians.
Experts say Muslims as well as Christians have been killed in the country's violence, often without distinction.
(with newswires)
