Gunmen reportedly kill ova 100 pipo for Kwara state

Ova 100 pipo don die afta armed gangs attack two communities for Kaiama local govment area of Kwara state, central Nigeria.

Di attack wey occur late Tuesday for Woro and Nuku communities dey come afta di military recently carry out operations for di area against wetin dem call "terrorist elements".

Tok-tok pesin of di Kwara state police Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi wey confam di attack to BBC, tok say di details of casualties still neva dey clear as reports full ground say pipo dey miss.

She add say reports wey dem don gada so far na say bandits and members of di Islamic West Africa Province (ISWAP) dey responsible for di attack, but investigations dey go on and dem don deploy various security forces go di area.

One lawmaker for di state, Saidu Baba Ahmed tell BBC say di gunmen set homes and shops on fire, dem force residents to run enta nearby bushland. E add say plenty pipo still dey miss for di communities as at Wednesday.

"Reports say di death toll tanda now for 162, as di search for more bodies continue," one Red Cross official for Kwara, Babaomo Ayodeji, tell AFP.

Di attack, wey be one of di several attacks across Nigeria for di last 24 hours, dey come as di defence minister confam to BBC say one small team of US troops don land di kontri to help wit intelligence and training.

Dis na di first official acknowledgement from Nigeria govment as dem confam say American troop dey di kontri since US President Donald Trump bin order di military for November to prepare for action for Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups.

Defence Minister Chrisopher Musa no provide details on di team size, arrival date, location or duration of stay.

Im comments follow wetin Gen Dagvin Anderson of US Africa Command (Africom) tok on Tuesday, e say di deployment follow Nigeria request and e dey focused on intelligence support.

"Our partnership wit Nigeria na great example of a very willing and capable partner wey request di unique capabilities wey only di US fit bring," e tok.

Nigeria dey face different security challenges wey include criminal gangs - known locally as "bandits" wey dey loot and kidnap for ransom, Islamist insurgency, crisis ova land and separatist unrest.

Di whereabouts of one traditional king dey unknown, according to reports.

For years, di bandits don mainly target pipo for di north-west of Nigeria - but dem don dey move go oda parts of di kontri, like Kwara and Niger states, more recently.

Some jihadists – wey dey suspected to be from one Boko Haram splinter faction – don also dey active for Kwara, as dem dey carry out targeted killings. Dem dey mostly ride on motorcycles, dey attack markets and di vigilante groups govment set up to protect villagers.

Kwara state govnor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for im reaction to di Tuesday attack, tok say di result of recent counter-terrorism operations for di region.

But di US military recently don bicom more involved for Nigeria security palava – dem launch airstrikes on Christmas Day on two camps wey one Islamist militant group dey operate for north-western Nigeria.

Late last year, di White House bin press Nigeria govment to improve security and strengthen protections for Christian communities.

US President Donald Trump bin previously claim say "Christian genocide" dey occur for Nigeria - one allegation wey Nigeria govment strongly reject, di govment say Muslims, Christians and pipo wey no get faith be victims of attacks.

More dan 250 ethnic groups dey for Nigeria, wey dey roughly divided into mainly Muslim north, largely Christian south, wit some for di middle.

Nigeria Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar tok say President Bola Tinubu approve di Christmas-Day and di Nigerian forces dey involved.

Since den, security co-operation between di two nations don increase. Di US last month tok say dem deliver critical supplies to support Nigeria security efforts.

Nigeria military confam give BBC say dem buy di equipment earlier to support counter-insurgency operations.

In recent weeks, Nigerian forces don step up operations against armed groups.

On Sunday, di army say dem kill one senior Boko Haram commander plus 10 oda militants during one operation for Borno state.