Sadiku: Unmasking Terrorist Leader Behind Kwara Massacre
Fresh details have emerged about the deadly attack in Kwara State, with security sources identifying a notorious terrorist leader, Sadiku, as the mastermind behind the massacre that left several residents dead and communities in shock.
According to intelligence and local security reports, the attack was a carefully planned operation attributed to Sadiku, a former Boko Haram commander who has since reinvented himself as one of the most feared terrorist figures in Nigeria’s North-Central region. His growing notoriety has earned him the grim nickname “the Shekau of North-Central,” a reference to the late Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, known for extreme violence.
Sources say Sadiku broke away from Boko Haram after internal factional disputes and relocated his operations from the North-East to forested areas spanning parts of Kwara and neighbouring states. Exploiting porous borders, weak rural security presence, and vast forest reserves, he allegedly built a network of armed fighters involved in banditry, kidnappings, and coordinated attacks on rural communities.
The Kwara massacre, security analysts say, bears Sadiku’s signature—swift movement, heavy firepower, and targeted assaults designed to instil fear and assert territorial control. Survivors reported that the attackers stormed the affected community in large numbers, killing residents, looting homes, and retreating before security forces could respond.
Local leaders and residents have long raised alarms about the growing presence of armed groups in border communities between Kwara, Niger, and Kogi states. The latest attack has intensified calls for stronger security collaboration, improved intelligence gathering, and sustained military operations in forest hideouts believed to be used by Sadiku and his fighters.
Security agencies have not officially confirmed all details surrounding Sadiku’s role but acknowledged that investigations are ongoing and that efforts have been intensified to dismantle terrorist cells operating in the North-Central region.
The Kwara State Government has condemned the attack, describing it as a heinous act of terror, and has urged residents to remain calm while security operations continue. Human rights groups, meanwhile, have called for the protection of civilians and accountability for perpetrators.
As the search for Sadiku and his network continues, the massacre has once again highlighted the expanding reach of terrorism beyond Nigeria’s North-East and the urgent need for a coordinated response to prevent further bloodshed in vulnerable communities.
