The death toll from a brutal assault by gunmen on a rural community in Nigeria’s western Kwara state has climbed to at least 162, according to the Red Cross, underscoring the deepening security crisis gripping large parts of the country.

Babaomo Ayodeji, Kwara state secretary of the Red Cross, said volunteers and local residents were still combing the area for bodies after the attack on Woro village in the Kaiama region. An earlier count of 67 dead was revised sharply upward as more victims were found in homes, fields and the surrounding bush.

Witnesses and local officials say the assailants arrived in large numbers around early evening, firing indiscriminately and setting buildings ablaze. Shops lining the village’s main road were torched, along with the palace of the traditional ruler. His whereabouts remain unknown, raising fears he may have been abducted or killed.

Police have confirmed that an attack took place but have not released an official casualty figure. Security sources say the scale of the killings suggests a well-planned operation, possibly in retaliation for recent military campaigns targeting armed groups in the area that authorities describe as terrorist elements.

Kwara state governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq condemned the assault as a cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells facing mounting pressure from security forces. He pledged increased deployments to vulnerable communities and support for survivors who have lost homes and livelihoods.

The massacre in Woro highlights the complex and overlapping conflicts destabilising Nigeria. Armed gangs, widely referred to as bandits, have entrenched themselves across parts of the north and centre, raiding villages, rustling cattle and kidnapping residents for ransom. In the north-east and north-west, jihadist factions continue to mount attacks despite years of military operations.

Analysts say these crises often intersect with local disputes over land, ethnicity and resources, blurring the lines between ideological violence and organised crime. While some international figures have framed the bloodshed as targeting specific religious communities, Nigerian officials and independent researchers stress that both Christians and Muslims are frequently among the dead.

As families in Woro bury their dead and search for the missing, aid workers warn that the psychological and economic scars of such attacks will endure long after the gunmen have vanished into the forests that shelter many of Nigeria’s armed groups.