Authorities claim that the new armed group “Lakurawa” is likely to have crossed into Nigeria, is in possession of advanced weaponry, and is accountable for the killings.
Officials have verified that gunmen killed 15 people in an attack on a town in northwest Nigeria, amid rumors that a recently arrived group was active in the region.
Kebbi State’s deputy governor declared on Saturday that “unknown gunmen” were responsible for Friday’s attack on Mera, which is around 50 kilometers from the Niger border.
However, authorities warned that a group known as “Lakurawa,” believed to be from Mali and Niger, had infiltrated Nigeria, which led to the most recent atrocity.
According to a statement from his office, senior security officers and Umar Tafida, Kebbi’s deputy governor, attended Saturday’s burial prayers for the 15 deceased in Mera.
Since the Boko Haram group first appeared in the Lake Chad region in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, the country has been beset by armed conflict.
Despite a military onslaught, various factions have broken away from or resurfaced alongside the insurgency, which is well-known for a number of major kidnappings.
Along with occasionally violent clashes between farming villages and nomadic herdsmen, the region has also been engulfed in disorder by armed bandits and kidnap groups.
According to UN agencies, 33 million people may experience “acute food insecurity” by the end of the year as a result of the famine that has been exacerbated by the turmoil that has moved to northwest Nigeria.
The federal military was told on the formation of the Lakurawa gang on Tuesday by Idris Muhammad Gobir, the deputy governor of Sokoto State, Kebbi’s neighbor.
Forest on the border
Gobir stated, “The group possessed sophisticated weapons and their criminal activities were observed in about five local government areas of the state” .
The gang settled close to the Niger border after arriving two months ago.
According to Isa Salihu Kalenjeni, the political administrator of Tangaza district, it then raids isolated settlements, robbing cattle and taxing local populations.
Additionally, the gang has established camps in the Tsauni forest, which extends into Niger.
Kalenjeni continued, “It preaches to local communities, encouraging them to rebel against authorities.”
According to him, the club gives young men seed money to start different trades in the areas.
During Friday’s attack, the terrorists broke into Mera and took control of several farm animals while locals were attending Friday prayers in the mosque.
Villagers rallied to protect their cattle, but 15 locals were killed in a conflict with more skilled terrorists, according to Bashir Isah, a community leader in Mera.
