The Rising Threat in Northwest Africa: Lakurawa

For many years, the people in northern Nigeria have been trying to survive under the shadow of terror and violence. In border states like Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, and Kebbi, the word "peace" has virtually become a dream.

In an attack on Mera village in Kebbi State last November, 15 innocent civilians lost their lives. This attack revealed a new dimension of the spiral of violence that has plagued the region for years: the Lakurawa terrorist group.

The group came into focus again in recent weeks after its members massacred police officers and other officials in the same region.

Not a New Formation

Lakurawa, a name that appeared in the media after the 2023 coup in Niger, is not actually a new formation. Lakurawa members have been operating quietly across three countries since 2016.

Although the Nigerian military has described Lakurawa as a relatively new terrorist organization that infiltrated Sokoto and Kebbi states via the Republic of Niger after the coup, Nigerian historian Murtala Ahmed Rufai explains in detail in a section of his work titled "Traditional Authority and Security in Contemporary Nigeria" that Lakurawa is an older structure than known.

According to Rufai's research, the Lakurawa members who came from Mali and settled on the Niger-Nigeria border were herders who spoke Arabic and Fulfulde. Starting in 2016, these herders transformed into a criminal organization initially based in Sokoto, which gradually began operating in border areas. Rufai and some other researchers state that Lakurawa is linked to Al-Qaeda's branch in Mali, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).

Initially, Lakurawa members were used to combat bandits who attacked villages and stole cattle, filling the security vacuum neglected by the state. They received payment from some local governments in Nigeria for providing this security service. However, they soon became the party perpetrating violence and banditry.

Around 2017, the Lakurawa group established a base in the Gudu and Tangaza Local Government Areas, about 60 miles from Sokoto city, the capital of Sokoto State in northern Nigeria. Group members married local women and managed to recruit young men from the area by offering financial incentives.

Like other radical groups, Lakurawa members adopted shallow and superficial interpretations of the Quran rather than its true meaning and avoided contact with the rest of society. The organization, aiming to provide Islamic education according to their own line in camps they called Darul Islam, rejected the Boko Haram label and preferred to be called Mujahideen (Holy Warriors).

Lakurawa members, who seized every opportunity to preach to groups in the area and collected cattle, sheep, and goats from herders under the name of Zakat, began over time to check people's phones, break the memory cards of those containing music, and whip people who were dancing and singing.

Weapons were occasionally used to intimidate the local population.

During this period, the Nigerian media reported on armed Lakurawa members, but the police denied the reports, stating that these were largely non-violent herders who had come to the area "mainly to find water for their animals."

Initially, Lakurawa members were supported by traditional and religious leaders in the area. But when the group's actions turned violent and began threatening security in the region, the leaders withdrew their support. By the time they called for preventing youth from joining the group, it was too late. Some leaders, together with people from the community, provided valuable intelligence to state officials to counter the group's activities. Unfortunately, the state did not take the threat posed by Lakurawa seriously enough at that time and turned a deaf ear to the public's outcry.

The covered-up problem grew larger and resurfaced in 2021. Lakurawa members collaborated with other Fulani communities in the region against the Yan Sakai civil defense group.

Following the 2023 coup in Niger, the cessation of joint military operations along the border by Nigerian and Nigerien forces led to Lakurawa growing even stronger.

Although the Nigerian military's determined steps to combat the group following the recent attacks are promising, it may not be possible to completely eliminate Lakurawa members.

Niger's Junta Leader Blames Nigeria

Despite the Nigerian military's tough fight against the Lakurawa terrorist group, accusations from Niger's junta leader, Tchiani, that Nigeria is cooperating with France and supporting Lakurawa have increased tensions between the two countries.

Tchiani, a leader who has failed to keep his promises since coming to power, may be aiming to create dissatisfaction between the peoples of the two brotherly countries, who have shared deep and close relations throughout history, and trying to divert attention elsewhere.

It is not reasonable to claim that Nigeria, which has always stood by the Nigerien people, built strong diplomatic ties, and hosted hundreds of thousands of Nigeriens on its own soil, would turn a blind eye to terrorism or want to sabotage Niger's oil exports by cooperating with France.

At a time when Niger, together with Mali and Burkina Faso, is taking a strong stance against France, Tchiani must remember that instead of targeting Nigeria, acting together with Nigeria, the region's most powerful country in the fight against terrorism, would be a significant advantage for his own country, Niger.

 

Sources:

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003428596-10/importing-militant-jihadists-murtala-ahmed-rufa 

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nwest/753708-lakurawa-what-we-know-about-new-terror-group-before-nigerian-military-flagged-it.html?tztc=1 

https://www.theafricareport.com/368321/nigeria-who-are-the-lakurawa-terrorists-making-inroads-in-the-north-west/ 

This article was originally published in Independent Türkçe, on February 12, 2025

https://www.indyturk.com/node/753720/t%C3%BCrki%CC%87yeden-sesler/afrikan%C4%B1n-kuzeybat%C4%B1s%C4%B1nda-y%C3%BCkselen-tehlike-lakurawa