Bomb Blasts and Church Raids Confirm Boko Haram Is Building a Terror Nest in Nigerias Kwara State

Boko Haram Builds New Terror Base in Nigeria's Kwara State as Churches Are Bombed and Christians Abducted

Armed insurgents linked to Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) are rapidly establishing a new operational stronghold in Nigeria's Kwara State, confirmed by a devastating series of bombings and church attacks in March 2026.

On Saturday, March 22, gunmen stormed the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Omugo village, Ifelodun Local Government Area, during a Sunday worship service. The attackers fired sporadically to scatter the congregation before abducting eight worshippers, including elderly parishioners. Three victims later escaped, but five remain in captivity.

The following day, Monday March 23, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated in the town of Woro in western Kwara State, killing at least eight people. Woro is the same community where Boko Haram militants massacred at least 162 people on February 3 and paraded 176 abducted women, children, and a nursing mother on Valentine's Day.

The Kwara South Joint Security Watch had previously raised alarms over intelligence suggesting coordinated terrorist attacks were being planned against three local government areas: Ifelodun, Irepodun, and Isin.

Police Commissioner Adekimi Ojo confirmed that joint police and military rescue operations were launched immediately, with security agencies, forest guards, and local vigilantes pursuing the attackers into the bush.

The targeting of a place of worship is unacceptable. Such acts of violence have no place in our communities.

The Kwara State government issued that statement following the ECWA church abductions.

Security analysts note that Boko Haram and ISWAP, which split in 2016, both operate under the ISIS flag and are frequently indistinguishable. The February massacre in Woro was carried out after villagers refused militants' demands to adopt their version of Sharia law. What was once a town of 17,000 people now has fewer than 200 residents.

Nigeria ranks among the world's most dangerous countries for Christians, with over 4,000 believers killed in recent years by Islamist extremist groups and armed bandits conducting kidnappings and attacks on places of worship.

ISWAP and Boko Haram Expand Terror Operations Beyond Northeast Nigeria Into Kwara State

TruthNigeria's investigative reporting had previously warned that jihadist insurgents were building a permanent base in Kwara State. These latest attacks confirm that the threat has moved well beyond Nigeria's northeast, where Boko Haram's insurgency has raged for over a decade, into central and western regions previously considered safe.

The escalation follows a pattern: the February 3 massacre in Woro and Nuku villages, the February 14 mass abduction, the March 22 church raid, and the March 23 IED bombing. Each event demonstrates increasing sophistication and boldness from the insurgents.

The Crusader's Opinion

Let us be absolutely clear about what is happening in Nigeria. Christians are being slaughtered in their churches. Women and children are being dragged from their homes. Entire towns are emptied. And the world says nothing.

A town of 17,000 people reduced to 200 because jihadists demanded Sharia law and the villagers said no. Eight worshippers ripped from a church service. A bomb in a community still burying its dead from last month's massacre. This is genocide. Call it what it is.

If Christians were doing this to Muslims anywhere on earth, every government, every news channel, every international body would be in emergency session. But when it's our brothers and sisters being murdered for the name of Christ in Nigeria, the silence is deafening. That silence makes the world complicit.

Take Action

• Donate to The Shepherd's Shield to support persecuted Christians in Nigeria and across Africa.
• Support Open Doors USA, which works directly with Nigerian Christians facing persecution and provides emergency relief.
• Give to Voice of the Martyrs to fund safe houses, trauma care, and Bibles for believers in Nigeria's conflict zones.
• Contact your congressional representatives and urge them to support the Nigeria Special Envoy Act. Find your representative at house.gov.
• Share this story on social media. The Nigerian church is under siege and the mainstream media is not covering it. Be the voice they do not have.