By Opeyemi Quadri Lakurawa is a terrorist organization based in northwestern Nigeria. It first emerged in the northern region between 2017 and 2018, but was was officially recognised as a threat to the people of Sokoto State on November 5, 2024, when the state’s deputy governor during a gathering in Abuja acknowledged the group’s presence.
Origin
The origin of the terror group has been traced to the Republic of Niger and Mali. The Nigerian Defense Headquarters claimed that they are affiliated with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
There are limited information about it founders, but Ameer Habib Tajje recently made headlines when in a video clip where he warned a wanted notorious bandit leader Bello Turji to desist from criminal activities or be dealt with. This singular acts position Ameer Habib Tajje as the leader of Lakurawa.
History
A senior fellow of Extremism Policy Unit at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Barr. Bulama Bukarti and a former Kaduna Senator, Shehu Sani, unanimously agreed that, “Lakurawa is not a new terrorist group”.
The Publicity Secretary of Arewa Consultative Forum, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, also corroborated Bukarti and Sani’s claims, saying Lakurawa have been around since 2017 and 2018.
Nigeria’s military is saying its presence received a boost after Nigeria and Niger republic abruptly ended their join military border patrols following military coup in Niger republic in July 2023.
When the Boko Haram terrorist group was active in the North, the Lakurawa terrorist presented themselves as unofficial local police. In Sokoto State, for instance, locals saw them as angels sent to protect them against existing terrorist groups that were operating under different names such as bandits not knowing it was part of the group’s ploy to infiltrate them.
Worried by their mode of operation and the fact that only the Nigerian State has the legitimacy to protect lives and properties, they were asked to vacate the Nigerian soil or be dealt with. They agreed to leave after an allegedly deal with Nigeria’s security, Prof. Muhammad-Baba said.
Area of coverage
The terror group increased its presence across some council areas, including Silame, bingi, Tangaza, and Gudu local governments of Sokoto State; Augie council area of Kebbi State, and a few other place in Zamfara, Nigeria’s hotbed of banditry.
For context, Zamfara was carved out from Sokoto State in 1996 by the military regime of Late Sani Abacha.
The three states share boundaries.
Mode of recruitment
The group is exploiting the extensive poverty in the North by luring youths with N1million to recruit them into their group.
Ideology
They are trying to enforce Sharia law in parts of Sokoto and Kebbi States. Already, they are trying to intervene in dispute resolution and establishing themselves as peace makers. And they are also pushing the same ideology narratives similar to Boko Haram such as “only fighting the government and its apparatus’’.
As part of their moves to create fair and get compliance from the locals, they now kill residents in Sokoto and Kebbi, Northwest Nigeria.
Source of funding
There are possibilities that they get funds from their ISIS, this cannot be confirmed. For now, they are also trying to enforce zakkat payment as a means of getting funds locally to support their illegitimate government.
Like Boko Haram, they tax market women and traders, farmers and take cows as zakkat from herders.
Timeline of Lakurawa’s deadly attacks
On November 9, 2024, the new Jihadist group reportedly launched attack on residents in Mera Kebbi State, killing at least 15 people. Mera is a border town with Niger Republic.
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Anita John