Sadiku: Unmasking the Terrorist Leader Behind the Kwara Massacre.
By Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu
Democracy Newsline, Abuja
February 7, 2026.
The massacre that swept through Woro, a quiet farming community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, leaving an estimated 176 people dead, was neither spontaneous nor accidental.
It was the culmination of a carefully orchestrated terror campaign years in the making—one that Nigeria’s security architecture failed to disrupt despite multiple warning signs.
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At the centre of the bloodshed is Abubakar Saidu, widely known as Sadiku—a jihadist commander whose violent trajectory spans more than a decade and now threatens to redraw Nigeria’s insurgency map.
Investigations reveal that Sadiku is not merely another bandit leader, but a hardened extremist whose roots lie deep within Boko Haram’s original command structure. His emergence in North-Central Nigeria signals a dangerous evolution of insurgency beyond its traditional North-East theatre.
From Shekau’s Protégé to North-Central Warlord
For years, Sadiku operated in obscurity. But security assessments now trace his rise to 2014, when he was handpicked by the late Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau as a trusted lieutenant tasked with expanding the group’s reach.
A self-styled counterterrorism analyst on X, MobilisingNigeria, notes that Sadiku was deliberately deployed to Niger State to open a new operational front for Boko Haram outside Borno.
By 2026, analysts describe him as the “Shekau of the North-Central”—a commander combining ideological extremism with ruthless violence.
As sustained military operations weakened Boko Haram’s North-East strongholds, Sadiku migrated westward, embedding himself within the vast forest belts of Niger and Kwara states, where weak state presence and difficult terrain offered safe haven.
Alliances, Splits, and Radicalisation
In his early expansion phase, Sadiku forged tactical alliances with notorious bandit kingpin Dogo Gide, exchanging weapons, intelligence, and territorial access. He also collaborated briefly with the Darul Islam group before its dismantling by police.
However, ideological rifts eventually fractured these partnerships. Unlike criminal bandit groups driven largely by ransom and cattle rustling, Sadiku increasingly pursued a rigid jihadist agenda. The split triggered violent clashes, killing fighters on both sides.
By July 2025, Sadiku retreated deep into the Kainji Forest Reserve, establishing a fortified base. Security experts say this marked a decisive shift from opportunistic banditry to full-scale insurgency.
Kainji Forest: Nigeria’s New Sambisa
Stretching across Niger, Kwara, and Kebbi states, the Kainji Forest Reserve has become a strategic insurgent corridor linking remnants of Boko Haram in the North-East with armed groups in the North-West.
Security analysts describe it as Nigeria’s new Sambisa Forest—a sanctuary for recruitment, arms movement, training camps, and coordinated attacks on rural communities.
A Kwara-based security expert, Hassan, warned that Sadiku’s presence in the Kainji axis represents a historic expansion of jihadist violence into the North-Central region.
“Boko Haram violence was once largely confined to Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. Today, splinter factions are exploiting forests, porous borders and weak security to push westward,” he said.
Operational Links With Al-Qaeda Affiliate.
Multiple security researchers, including Brandon Phillips, a West and East Africa conflict tracker, have linked Sadiku’s faction to Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM)—an Al-Qaeda affiliate active across the Sahel.
The Woro massacre occurred less than four kilometres from Nuku, where JNIM claimed its first attack in Nigeria in October 2025, suggesting either an alliance or non-aggression pact.
Between November and December 2025, Sadiku reportedly redeployed fighters into JNIM-controlled areas of Kwara, Niger, and southern Kebbi, further blurring the lines between Boko Haram splinters and Sahel-based jihadist networks.
Communities Where Sadiku’s Faction Has Operated.
Security findings and field reports link Sadiku’s faction to violent operations in the following locations:
Woro, Kaiama LGA, Kwara State – Mass execution of residents (February 2026)
Papiri axis, Niger State – Coordinated attacks and abductions.
Nuku, Kaiama LGA – Insurgent activity near JNIM operational zones
Kaiama and Baruten LGAs, Kwara State – Recruitment, intimidation, and targeted killings
Borgu axis, Niger State – Forest camps and weapons transit routes
Southern Kebbi State – Cross-border militant movements.
Kainji National Park corridor.
– Main operational base, training and logistics hub
These areas form a contiguous belt of instability linking Nigeria’s North-Central region to militant networks across the Sahel.
The Warning Letter and the Night of Terror.
Weeks before the massacre, Woro’s village head, Salihu Umar, received a handwritten letter dated 19 Rajab 1447 (January 8, 2026), signed by JAS—Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’adati wal-Jihad.
The letter promised peaceful preaching and requested a secret meeting with community leaders. Umar forwarded copies to the Kaiama Emirate and the Department of State Services (DSS).
The warning went unheeded.
On the evening of the attack, gunmen arrived around 5pm, sealing all exit routes. By 6pm, the emir’s palace was torched, sporadic gunfire echoed across the town, and an execution phase began—men rounded up, bound, and shot at close range.
Survivors described a white helicopter hovering briefly overhead, departing without intervention.
By the time security forces
arrived around 3am, the attackers had melted back into the forest, abducting women and children.
Why Security Failed.
Intelligence sources confirmed that attackers planted explosives along access roads, delaying military response. A security truck was reportedly hit while attempting to reach the community.
Security analysts argue the failure reflects broader systemic weaknesses: overstretched forces, poor rural coverage, porous borders, and lack of accountability.
Kabiru Adamu, a security expert, warned that such attacks will persist unless vulnerabilities are addressed and perpetrators decisively pursued.
“We are handling terrorists with kid gloves. No one is held accountable. As long as this continues, the violence will not stop.”
Aftermath and Government Response.
The Kwara State Government has constituted a seven-member humanitarian committee to engage survivors and coordinate relief and reconstruction.
Over 50 survivors are receiving treatment in Ilorin hospitals, while mass burials continue in Woro and surrounding villages.
Yet for many residents, the fear remains palpable. Entire communities are deserted, farmlands abandoned, and economic life paralysed.
A Dangerous Turning Point
The Woro massacre represents more than a tragic loss of life—it marks a strategic shift in Nigeria’s security crisis. With figures like Sadiku embedding jihadist ideology into bandit-dominated spaces, the line between insurgency and criminality is fast disappearing.
Unless decisive action is taken, security experts warn that North-Central Nigeria may become the next major front in a widening jihadist conflict—one already written in blood in Woro.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, FEBRUARY 7TH 2026)
