Six-Month Killing Spree: Lakurawa Terrorists Leave 59 Dead in North West Nigeria

Between January and June 2025, Lakurawa terrorists carried out multiple attacks across Sokoto and Kebbi States in northwestern Nigeria, killing civilians, engaging in combat with the military, and disrupting communication networks.

These incidents, which claimed 59 lives, not only highlight their growing capacity for insurgency and their potential ideological connections with Sahel-based jihadists; they also portend another ever-increasing threat in the already terrorised northwestern states and the Sahel.

In March this year, Governor Ahmed Aliyu unveiled the Sokoto State Community Guards Corps to combat rising insecurity in Sokoto State. After three months of intensive training, the corps was launched at Gingiya Memorial Stadium, with the governor urging them to safeguard their assigned communities and reinforce security across the state.

Also, in April this year, the Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, urged the Federal Government to establish a permanent military base in the Augie Local Government Area, following a deadly attack by suspected Lakurawa terrorists that claimed the lives of over a dozen villagers.

His special adviser on communication and strategy, Idris Zuru, revealed that during his visits to the affected community, the governor emphasised the urgent need for enhanced security to prevent further violence. Governor Idris reiterated his call for federal government approval of the military base as part of broader efforts to curb terrorist activities in the region.

The Lakurawa group first became visible about six years ago, when residents of Tangaza and Gudu Local Government Areas in Sokoto State noticed unusual herding movements. Initially perceived as nomadic herders migrating from the neighbouring Niger Republic, the group gradually evolved into an organised militant faction.

When they arrived in Nigeria, the newcomers, primarily of Malian origin, presented as vanguards protecting locals from rural bandits. However, there has been a drastic shift in perception from locals due to their strict religious practices and illegal taxation as a result of imposing their version of Sharia law.

At first, authorities dismissed concerns about their presence, assuming they were merely herders trying to escape climate-induced conflicts in the Sahel. Nevertheless, continued interactions with local communities revealed that Lakurawa were more than just a herding group—they were an organised religious faction with a militant agenda.

Their operations, now characterised by violent enforcement of religious doctrines, targeted killings, and infrastructural sabotage, have placed them in direct conflict with Nigerian security forces.

The group operates under hierarchical leadership, enforcing its interpretation of religious law in areas under its control. Over time, Lakurawa imposed restrictions on villagers, forbidding them from engaging in certain economic activities, particularly those deemed anti-Islamic, such as fishing, alcohol trade, and local taxation systems.

In the first half of 2025, Lakurawa terrorists orchestrated multiple attacks that showcased their ability to engage in both conventional combat and asymmetric warfare. The attacks claimed the lives of 21 civilians, 16 vigilantes, 13 hunters, five soldiers, two police officers, and two customs officers in both Sokoto and Kebbi states.

The six-month killing spree

On Jan. 3, an attack by the Lakurawa terrorists in the Arugungu Local Government Area of Kebbi State claimed the lives of two police officers during an encounter. The terrorists had attacked a ranch in a Fulani settlement in the Nastini village where they rustled an unspecified number of cows.

The terrorists struck again on Jan. 10,  killing four people in Gumki village, Arewa Local Government Area of Kebbi State. The attack, confirmed by the state police command, occurred at a construction site near the Nigeria-Niger Republic border. Three staff members of Airtel Communications Nigeria Limited, who were working on a surveillance mast installation for the Nigeria Immigration Service, and a resident of the area were killed.

In the same month, security forces launched an offensive against Lakurawa positions in the Gudu Local Government Area of Sokoto State, leading to a fierce battle. The encounter resulted in the deaths of five Nigerian soldiers and six Lakurawa militants.

The clash demonstrated the group’s ability to withstand direct military engagement, raising fears that they possessed advanced weaponry beyond the typical arms carried by rural terrorists. Intelligence assessments suggested that smuggled arms from Libya or Mali might have strengthened their firepower.

In what seemed to be a retaliatory strike on March 10, after the death of their leader, Maigemu, at the hands of a joint security force in Kebbi, Lakurawa terrorists launched an attack on Birnin Dede village, resulting in the deaths of 13 individuals. The assailants would later attack Bachaka, a border settlement in the Arugungu Local Government Area of Kebbi State. During the assault, two officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and a resident tragically lost their lives.

The terrorists killed sixteen members of a local vigilante group in a separate attack after raiding villages in the Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State on Sunday, April 6. Later, on April 8, three fishermen were executed by Lakurawa militants near Sanyinna village of the Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State. The victims were targeted for violating religious restrictions, particularly fishing, which the group classified as an impermissible activity within their controlled regions. 

While this incident underscores Lakurawa’s ideological rigidity, it also suggests they are moving towards a state-building agenda, where control over rural communities becomes a priority. The terrorists executed a similar attack on May 5, ambushing a seasonal hunting expedition and killing 13 hunters. Survivors described it as a coordinated attack rather than random violence. The attack highlighted a crucial strategy: terrorists are asserting territorial control to prevent outside groups from accessing local forests. The terrorists escalated their actions with a violent attack on Magonho village in the Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State. Troops from the Forward Operating Base (FOB) quickly mobilised to pursue the terrorists and recover stolen livestock.

They later regrouped, attacked the village again, and set the MTN communication tower on fire, which escalated the destruction and disrupted mobile connectivity. This incident suggested a strategy aimed at isolating communities from the outside world, a tactic previously used by Boko Haram insurgents in northeastern Nigeria.

While this attack looks like mere vandalism, it suggests broader strategic implications of communication disruption that offer a tactical advantage. The blackout could prevent residents from alerting authorities, allowing them to operate without fear of being tracked, making counterterrorism efforts significantly harder.

Changes in Tactics?

Lakurawa’s operations are no longer limited to the Gudu and Tangaza local government areas in Sokoto, where they were previously focused. Their expansion into Kebbi State indicates a strategic effort to broaden their influence.

HumAngle has published detailed reports on the Lakurawa terrorists. In one of these reports, we emphasised how the Lakurawa group, once viewed as “harmless herders”, has transformed into a dangerous terrorist organisation operating in northwestern Nigeria. We also identified the perilous enclaves associated with these terrorists by analysing how the group infiltrates areas with weak security, exploits local grievances, and positions itself as the dominant authority, similar to Al-Qaeda’s methods of destabilising regions.

Sources familiar with their operations told HumAngle that their primary targets remain armed security personnel, including local vigilantes and military operatives. “They don’t want anyone to be armed except them so that when people have problems, they can rely on them for survival,” a source told HumAngle, underscoring their long-term objective of exerting control over local communities.

Yahuza Getso, a security, intelligence and investigations expert, attributes the operations of Lakurawa terrorists to negligence or internal sabotage within the system of the Nigerian security, noting that it has emboldened them [Lakurawa] to carry out heinous acts of terrorism that are exacerbating insecurity in the region.

Getso added that Nigerian security formations must face reality and this menace realistically and not continue politicising the security process and procedure; otherwise, the country will continue to wallow in bigger security threats.

Recent findings by HumAngle indicate that the Lakurawa terrorists have intensified their attacks, specifically targeting military and security forces in Sokoto and Kebbi states. Sources confirm that this renewed aggression directly responds to the increased military presence to curb their activities in the Tangaza and Gudu areas.

“Recently, the military has been operating within those areas to increase its presence in Tangaza and Gudu. So in return, the terrorists have also increased their attacks in an attempt to dislodge the military in those areas,” a source familiar with the situation told HumAngle. 

Previously, Lakurawa militants primarily avoided direct assaults on villages. However, this pattern has shifted, with increasing attacks on communities, cattle rustling, and efforts to undermine local security initiatives. In response to the rising insecurity, the Sokoto State government launched its Community Guard Corps, a vigilante group tasked with protecting local communities.

To support the vigilantes’ mobility, the Sokoto government provided motorcycles, but Lakurawa fighters have aggressively pursued these assets. “These terrorists are attacking the vigilantes to collect the motorcycles,” the source noted. “They go around warning vigilantes who are armed to submit their guns, or they kill them.”

As their hostility toward armed civilians has intensified, Getso warned that if these attacks continue without practical counterterrorism actions, their influence could extend beyond Sokoto and Kebbi States, potentially threatening the stability of West Africa.

“The behaviour at which the Lakurawa is operating is going to be more dangerous for Nigeria than Boko Haram; it is going to be more dangerous for Nigeria than ISWAP, and it is going to be more dangerous for West Africa than any other rebels that we have had or religious extremists,” Getso noted.

“Vandalising telecommunication and other infrastructure, killing innocent civilians and attacking military and other paramilitary or security formations is a hazardous signal at a time when the Nigerian military is saying they have flushed away the Lakurawa terrorists.”