“The political and security vacuum left by Niger’s instability made it easier for the Lakurawas to recruit from the poverty-stricken and insecurity-ridden population,” Emmanuel Bagudu, a former military officer and security expert, said.
A scary situation that has non-state actors welding the reins of power and dictating the modus operandi of how the citizens should live their lives and going further to inflict blood-letting harm on the so-called offenders calls for serious concern and urgent action as well.
Unfortunately, that is the unfolding drama of the newest terrorist group in town, Lakurawa, whose tone and tenor are driving fear and apprehension down the spines of millions of citizens in both Sokoto and Kebbi states, as part of the North-West geopolitical zone of the insecurity-bedevilled country, Nigeria.
The source of serious worry comes with regards to the metamorphosis of the terrorist group, Boko Haram, which began its fear-fuelling activities back in Borno State in 2009 and has since then expanded its operations with ISWAP. That was before the emergence of the so-called bandits. The brutal and brazen killings of several innocent farmers by fully armed herdsmen and the travails caused by kidnappers have held sway for decades. This runs against the fundamental function of government to protect the citizens and their property against all harm as enshrined in Section 14 Sub-Section (2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
According to Bagudu, the members of Lakurawa were initially mercenaries hired by Fulani communities in Sokoto and Kebbi states to protect their livestock from the swirling waves of banditry in the troubled North-West region. But given that opportunity, they decided to form their own group—to clip the widening wings of the bandits. And as fate would have it, the military coup in the Republic of Niger in 2023 kicked off a significant shift in the security dynamics up north. In fact, it disrupted partnerships between Nigeria and Niger in addition to Cameroon, which had contained the cross-border terrorism and banditry. The increasingly porous borders made ample room for their influx into some northern states of Nigeria. Their collaboration with the local bandits has led to their recent display of bravado and audacity.
This position echoes that of Shehu Sani, a former Senator of Kaduna Central Senatorial District who is a renowned activist. He insists that the leaders of Lukarawa are foreigners and not Nigerians. He has described their activities, which include the beheading of some of their victims, as detestable. And according to Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, the former Chairman of the Zamfara State Committee on Prosecution of Bandit Related Offences, the Lukarawa has established strict rules in the communities where they currently operate. For instance, they have prohibited the sales of cigarettes and gone further by burning down the shops of those who violate their rules. Also, they do not allow any Imam who cannot speak Arabic fluently to lead the congressional Friday prayers. What an audacious display of socio-economic and religious powers by non-elected or government-appointed individuals or groups to call the shots. But what is the way forward? That is the million-naira question.
The answer, according to members of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), as led by the National Coordinator, Comrade Jamiru Aliyu Charanchi, lies in a holistic approach from all the stakeholders to combat the growing threat posed by the Lukarawa. Indeed, one cannot but agree with the CNG that an urgent collaboration amongst the local, state, and federal governments, on the one hand, and also between the leaders of the affected communities, including their religious and traditional rulers, has become an imperative. Forging, strengthening, and sustaining such a united front would go a long way towards addressing the escalation of the insecurity as currently posed by the Lakurawas.
As Charanchi rightly stated, “Lakurawa has the potential to further destabilise an already vulnerable region if left unchecked.” But with the hindsight of the lessons learnt so far from the activities of the Boko Haram, bandits, armed herders, and kidnappers, all of which are self-decimating to the northern part of the country, dealing with Lukarawa effectively demands credible answers to some fundamental questions.
For instance, Nigerians need to know the powerful and untouchable people funding the terrorist group so hugely that it is giving monetary incentives to the hungry youths in rural communities in Sokoto and Kebbi states to lure them for their recruitment, to raise an army of terrorists. Also, if, as alleged by the CNG, the Lakurawa group is currently planning an expansionist agenda, it means that drastic, proactive steps must be taken right away to cripple such. There comes in the significance of the collaborative efforts of the police, soldiers, and other security personnel required to weaken them. The deployment of hi-tech measures to effectively track them and provide a credible database for those to combat them has become a necessity.
On the part of the federal government, it should ensure that the huge budgetary allocations to fight inequality are expended based on transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility. And that is because there is no value for the huge public funds spent in curtailing and containing the violent activities of all manner of terrorists, as experienced over the decades. Also important is for it to act decisively on the prosecution of some highly placed Nigerians fingered as sponsors of terrorism in the country and for the importation and proliferation of arms and ammunition in the country. These nefarious activities have also been linked to some people who should be fished out and brought to speedy trial and justice.
With an astonishing number of about 300,000 bandits in the North-West alone and over 10,000 of them as active fighters, the emergence of the Lakurawa should not be treated with kid gloves. It would be recalled that the Bello Turji-led bandits have kept several farmers either paying taxes to access their farms or not allowed to get to their farms to boost food production. This is unacceptable!
Not at all. But we must admit, as Shehu Sani has suggested, the crying need for Nigeria to collaborate with neighbouring countries such as the Republic of Niger and Benin, as well as other ECOWAS countries, to clip the wings of Lakurawa before it spreads from the north southwards. A stitch in time will definitely save nine.
Ayo Baje is an author and public affairs analyst based in Lagos