A newly emerged terror group known as Mahmuda has reportedly killed three villagers in a fresh attack on Duruma, a remote settlement in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The assault, which took place in the early hours of Tuesday, June 3, 2025, marks the latest in a string of violent incursions by the group, which has been operating in parts of Kwara and neighbouring Niger State.
Eyewitnesses and local sources told Sahara Reporters that the militants stormed the village, shooting sporadically and killing at least three residents. “They attacked Duruma this morning and left three people dead. Just last week, they burnt down a farm settlement nearby,” one source said.
Mahmuda is believed to be a growing terror cell with roots in Nigeria’s North Central region. The group has been linked to a series of coordinated attacks across multiple rural communities near the Kainji Lake National Park, using the forested terrain as cover for their operations.
In Kwara, affected areas include Kemaanji, Tenebo, Baabete, Nuku, and Nanu in Kaiama LGA, as well as parts of the Yashikira District in Baruten LGA. Security sources say the group is expanding its influence, with reports of territorial control now extending to Babana and Wawa districts in Niger State’s Borgu LGA.
As panic spreads across rural communities, residents are pleading for urgent government intervention to stem the violence.
Attempts to obtain an official response from the Kwara State Police Command were unsuccessful, as the command’s spokesperson, SP Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, did not return calls at the time of filing this report.
The attack has once again highlighted the deepening security crisis in Nigeria’s hinterlands, where emerging terror groups are gaining footholds in the absence of sustained counterterrorism operations.
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