Counter-insurgency and security expert, Zagazola Makama, has taken time to break down the make up of the new Islamic jihadist terror group that has infiltrated five local government areas in Sokoto State and parts of Kebbi State.
Makama who is an expert when it comes to insurgency in northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, in a post on X on Thursday, said the new group known as ‘Lakurawas’ which means ‘recruits’, are affiliated to the Islamic State (IS) and are deadlier than the Boko Haram sect.
According to the security expert, the emergence of the sect underscores an alarming “expansion of extremist control, previously seen with Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) in the region, and further indicates the spread of ISIS and Al-Qaeda-linked factions from the broader Sahel area into Nigeria.”
“The IS Sahel operates a significant smuggling network from Kebbi State’s Dole-Kaina, a border town connecting Nigeria and Niger and they are more dangerous than Boko Haram,” he stated.
He also said the group have been engaging in smuggling of fuel, ammunition and other supplies across Nigeria’s borders to terror groups across the Sahel and West African regions.
These are nine things to know about the new Lakurawa jihadist sect as broken down by Makama:
1. The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), also known as IS Sahel, has established its presence and influence across five local government areas in Sokoto State, with its influence expanding into neighboring Kebbi State as well.
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2. The Lakurawa sect is also known as the ‘recruits’ who began their infiltration as a strictly religious group who were on a mission to recruit and convert people.
3. The group has already begun enforcing strict mandates on residents, while on the other hand, have been smuggling essential supplies to terrorist networks throughout the Sahel region.
4. In Sokoto State, the IS Sahel, through the Lakurawas, has entrenched itself in the Gudu, Tangaza, Silame, Binji, and Illela LGAs.
5. The group is more deadly than the Boko Haram and ISWAP sects and kill at the slightest provocation.
6. The terrorists have banned vigilante activities within the communities they have taken over and have effectively disabled local security responses and have instituted Sharia-based mandates.
7. The Lakurawas have instituted a strict Islamic law and demand ‘zakkat’ or levies on livestock, requiring residents to give up one cow for every thirty they own, collected directly by group members.
8. They have also imposed a strict dress code with women instructed to wear hijabs at all times while men are required to maintain long beards and wear shortened trousers.
9. The sect members are mostly renegades from Mali, Niger Republic, Sudan, Libya, and other countries in the Sahel region who are ferried into the country with the help of their Nigerian extremists.
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