By MUSA UBANDAWAKI, Sokoto

Unknown to many, the new terrorist group, Lakurawa, the army raised the alarm about, last week, did not just spring up recently.

As far back as 2018, it was discovered that the group had commenced operations in Gongono Forest, Tangaza Local Government Area.

This is the story:

On December 16, 2018, I received a call from then Sokoto State Director of the Department of State Services, Ibrahim Bello, while on a visit to my village.

Bello said he wanted to see me for a discussion.

I left my village early Sunday morning with my family to meet the DSS boss.

At 2pm, I received another call from the same person asking if I had arrived Sokoto, I said yes. He asked me to come to his office, which I did without hesitation.

My conversation with the DSS boss while in his office was if I was aware of the presence of a terrorist group in Tangaza Local Government. I said no, that I was not aware.

After responding to his question, he started telling me about the emergence of the group and support given by the then Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to security operatives including DSS, Police and Army to chase the group out of Gongono Forest.

He said Tambuwal had offered series of support to security agencies fighting the group in Gongono Forest, which served as their hideout and centre of the their activities.

The DSS boss asked me to write a report on the emergence of the group and how security operatives in the state chased them out after killing their members and setting the entire forest ablaze.

Few members of the group pleaded for one week extension for them to leave the area completely, saying they sent a member on an errand to Lagos to disposed their cattle after which they will relocate to where they initially came from. The group, according to communities in the area were initially invited by nomadic herdsmen formerly occupying the area for protection against bandits who often conduct series of attacks and rustled their cattles.

Shortly after their arrival, the jihadists who were said to hail from two African countries, Algeria and Mali, established what seems to be like a colony or an empire with strict adherence to Islamic ideology.

The group banned cigarettes smoking, alcoholism, adultery, non-shaving of bears among men and ensured mandatory wearing of hijabs for Women.

Also, the sect enforced Zakkat on Fulani with large number of herds of livestock sale as enshrined in the Holy Qur?an.

The group?s re-emergence might not be unconnected with the location of the forest and its lush vegetation that stands between the borders of Nigeria and Niger as well as its proximity to Niger Republic, the country that shares bother with Algeria and Mali

The Malian jihadists were also reported to engage in the struggle to establish a training base for hard-line Islamic fundamentalism in the area.

During the group?s first encounter with security agents in the densely populated forest in Gongono, many extremists were killed after which jihadists? flag was recovered.

It is their symbol of authority with Islamic inscription similar to that of Alshabab, the group operating in Somalia.

After the encounter with security agents, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association issued a statement, saying the jihadists were not terrorists as claimed but herdsmen from Mali, adding that nobody should disturb them.

This was despite evidence that they had seized many communities in two Local Government Areas of the state and forcing them to pay taxes.

Tangaza/Gudu Federal Constituency is surrounded by two forests that include DarnaTsaulawo Forest that stretches to Gwadabawa, Illela and Niger Republic and Kuyan Bana forest which extends to Gudu and Niger Republic.

Sani Alhaji Yakubu, a member of the National Assembly representing the area, revealed that the terrorists have joined forces and vowed to make life difficult for people who are predominantly farmers in the area.

He said: ?The two forests house two terrorist groups, the Lakurawa who claimed to be jihadists from Niger, Mali, Libya, Algeria and the local Bandits.

?The two groups who were earlier sworn enemies, have now joined forces, making it much more difficult for deployed security operatives to penetrate or cordon the the general area of the forest.

In his motion at the floor of the National Assembly, Yakubu urged the military to deploy more personnel and hardwares to comb the forests to flush out criminals.

?People of my constituency are always in shackles of one terrorists group or the other since 2018 and government is not doing enough to free them from the groups wanton attacks and cattle rustling.?

The first victim of the group when they first arrived at the area was a traditional ruler, the District head of Balle, the headquarters of Gudu Local Government Area, Magajin Garin Balle, who was beheaded by the group after a misunderstanding between the sect and his son.

Defence Headquarters had raised the alarm, last week, about the new terrorist group with strongholds in Sokoto and Kebbi states, saying they are already causing havoc.

?Now that we know where they are, we are already going after them, and we will take them out,? Defence Headquarters spokesman Maj-Gen Edward Buba, said.

According to him, the sect is linked to Islamic State ,ISIS.

He added that when they settled in Sokoto and Kebbi, the people did not raise the alarm until they started their nefarious activities. (Sunday Vanguard: Text only)

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