Lakurawa: How much of a threat is new terror group?

Recently, the media was awash with the news of the emergence of Lakurawa, a new terrorist group, in the North-West of Nigeria.

Some top security experts also confirmed the sad development, which many fear will worsen the insurgency situation in the country.

According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert in the Lake Chad region, Lakurawa is for real.
He noted that the once militant group, was originally formed as a self-defense force for Fulani communities in Niger Republic in 1997, but has become a formidable and increasingly radicalised in Nigeria’s northwest.
Reports indicate that the group has been active in banditry, cattle rustling, and kidnappings in Sokoto and Kebbi states, raising fears about the spread of violent extremism in the region.

Initially established to protect Fulani herders from Tuareg attacks, the Lakurawa shifted stance in 2012, when a faction allied with al-Ansar al-Sharia, a group pushing for a Sharia state in Mali’s Azawad region. The alliance resulted in a splinter group that began to adopt extremist ideologies, operating outside legal frameworks and often clashing with local authorities.
Sources indicate that in 2018, local leaders in Nigeria’s Gudu and Illela areas discreetly invited the group to help curb rising bandit activity, bypassing government channels—a move that has since drawn controversy.

Shortly after Mohamed Bazoum, Niger Republic’s president, was ousted from power on July 26, 2023, as members of the presidential guard led a coup, reinstating military rule calling itself the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), the Lakurawa group was allegedly contracted by a foreign country to destabilise the country to restore President Buzoum.

Each of the Lakurawa top men were allegedly given dollars equivalent to N10 million with a motorcycle, while those with wives were paid about N15 million each with motorcycles as incentives for their recruitment. Sophisticated equipment was also supplied to the group.

Read  also: Lakurawa terrorist group is a threat to Nigeria’s security, says ACF

According to SBM Intelligence, a security intelligence platform, the group was on its way to North Western Nigeria to provide support to Ansaru, Boko Haram’s first splinter faction and now the local Nigeria Al-Qaeda affiliate which had taken a huge beating from the Nigeria Police Force in Kuduru area of Kaduna in February of that year.

Meanwhile, the group has been existing in Nigeria since 2018, hibernating around the villages of Kebbi, Sokoto and some parts of Zamfara. The people of the region were comfortable with them as they provided protection to them against attacks by armed bandits.

In many cases, they reportedly confront and expel bandits and confiscate their cattle in areas under their control.
They also employ a combination of financial incentives and ideological influence to gain support among vulnerable communities, but things soon started to fall apart when the extremist groups began to impose ideologies linked to the Khawarij sect, similar to the beliefs of Boko Haram.

The Lakurawa, which includes a diverse ethnic makeup of Malians, Arabs, Tuaregs, and Fulanis, is notable for their distinct attire, with members often sporting beards and turbans. Known to communicate in Arabic, Tuareg, Fulfulde, and Hausa, they have easily integrated across communities, facilitating their expansion across the Northwest.
Their extremist shift was part of the plan to form alliances with larger insurgent groups, like bandits and Boko Haram, fueling insecurity in Nigeria’s northwestern and north-central zones. Their complex history and cross-border connections make it a difficult threat to neutralise.
Makama noted also that the group’s alignment with local insurgent factions echoes the circumstances that gave rise to Boko Haram.
“This is a group with deep historical roots and a willingness to adapt its tactics, making it a highly destabilising force,” Makama said.

The counter-insurgency expert hinted how the terrorists operate a significant smuggling network from Kebbi State’s Dole-Kaina, a border town connecting Nigeria and Niger Republic.

Large quantities of fuel, ammunitions and other supplies are reportedly transported across Nigeria’s borders, with items reaching terror groups across the Sahel and West African regions. These supplies including funding, come through Niger Republic, in some instances, Benin Republic to reach Kompienga, a province in eastern Burkina Faso, which is a known hotbed for terrorist activity.
A recent operations of the Nigerian Army in collaboration with the Air Component of Operation Fasan Yamma, under the Northwest Operation Farautar Mujiya, against the Lakurawa group in Kebbi State has forced the armed group into retreat following a swift and effective campaign by the Nigerian military.

According to Makama, the air and ground forces coordinated to strike Lakurawa camps, have led to the seizure of livestock and other resources, which have been a vital revenue stream for the group.
In the wake of the attack, the Lakurawa group is reportedly withdrawing towards Borgu, a strategic area near the Nigeria-Benin border. Known for its remote terrain and access to cross-border livestock and grain markets, Borgu has historically provided cover for the group’s operations and trade-based income sources.
The Lakurawa group’s retreat was a potential attempt to exploit less-monitored border regions to regroup and reestablish revenue streams.

Intelligence suggests that the group may continue further south toward Ilesha Bariba in Kwara State, near the Benin border, where their illicit activities could evade closer scrutiny.

With operations continuing, security forces are advised to monitor key crossings and market areas in Borgu and Ilesha Bariba to anticipate potential regrouping or new smuggling routes that may sustain Lakurawa’s activities.