Recently, the media was awash with news of a new terror group in Northern part of the country. The news triggered concerns among Nigerians because of the manner terrorists have made the region their haven, writes Head, Defence/Security Affairs, ODITA SUNDAY.

For close to two decades now, the Northern part of the country has been restive because of the activities of groups parading as Boko Haram, bandits, kidnappers or killer herdsmen.

Prior to the insurgence initiated by these groups, there was Maitatsine riot in Kano; the first large scale religious conflict in the country. Led by Mohammed Marwa, popularly known as Maitatsine and his followers, Yan Tatsine, in 1980, the riot snuffed out the lives of over 4,177 civilians, 100 policemen and about 35 military personnel. The Kano riot was followed by others riots in Jimeta, Bulumkutu and Kafanchan.

Since 1980, the once peaceful Northern region, which was an economic haven, has become the hotbed of religious conflict in postcolonial Nigeria. This reached its crescendo in 2009, when the Islamist movement, Boko Haram, emerged in the frame of Maitatsine.

This deadly group is responsible for the death of thousands of innocent Nigerians and an armed rebellion against the Nigerian military, sacking villages and towns and taking thousands of lives in battles.

The Insurgency of Boko Haram has equally affected 15 million people, displaced over two million and caused an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 deaths. Boko Haram?s origin can be traced back to a group of radical youths who worshipped at Alhaji Muhammadu Ndimi Mosque in Maiduguri.

Mohammed Yusuf, an influential Muslim cleric, founded the group as an offshoot of the Salafi-jihadist group fighting for the replacement of the secular Nigerian state with an Islamic one based on a strict compliance to the Sharia law, throughout the country.

It operates in the Northeast of the country, in particular in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, exerting violence against westerners, Christians and Muslims considered ?infidels?.

Over the years, it has further expanded its activities to the Northwest and the North Central regions. It has committed a lot of massacres, and also involved in suicide bombings, burning down of entire villages, attacks on places of worship and schools, and the killing of people in such sites; attacks on Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, cruel and degrading treatment following sentences by its ?courts?, extrajudicial executions, political assassinations, abduction on a massive scale, including of children, forced displacement, child recruitment, grave violation of the rights of women and girls such as slavery, sexual violence, forced marriages and forced pregnancy, etc.

Many are worried that with the emergence of this new group, IS-Sahel, also called ?Lakurawa? into Nigeria cannot but be sad news for the country?s embattled space, particularly in the North where insurgency seems not to be losing ground. It is sad because the law enforcers, the armed forces and the police, are stretched to their limits, while Nigerians living in the affected areas have become distressed as a result of seemingly endless terror against them.

Analysts note that despite the gallantry of the armed forces and efforts to neutralise the human marauders, it has not been able to completely do so. While sub-national government could be blamed for creating an environment conducive to terrorist settlements, experts have linked the trend to the porous state of Nigeria?s borders with neighbouring countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya, and Algeria.

Expressing his views, former Director of State Services, Mr. Dennis Amachree, pointed to the porous state of Nigeria?s borders. He said because they are largely under-policed is a major factor.

?From Boko Haram to Lakurawa, Northern Nigeria has become a breeding ground for terrorism owing to a confluence of factors. Porous borders with neighbouring countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya and Algeria, plagued by their own terrorist issues, facilitate the movement of extremist groups,? Amachree said.

He added: ?Weak governance, rampant poverty, and high levels of illiteracy create a vacuum that these groups exploit. The ineffective response to Boko Haram has allowed terrorist groups to flourish. Mismanagement, corruption, and a lack of coordination among security agencies have hindered counterterrorism efforts.

?Moreover, human rights abuses by security forces have alienated local populations, making it difficult to gather intelligence and build trust.

?To combat the emerging threat of Lakurawa, the Nigerian security forces must adopt a multi-faceted approach. Prioritising intelligence gathering, utilising advanced surveillance techniques, and fostering international cooperation are crucial.? He said addressing the root causes of terrorism, such as poverty and inequality, through socioeconomic development programmes is essential. By building trust with local communities and implementing effective counter-narrative strategies, Nigeria can hope to dismantle terrorist networks and restore peace to the region.

The Guardian investigations revealed that this group played on the emotion of a people desperate for protection against roving terrorists. And just as they thought they had found new saviours, the Lakurawa introduced their radical ideologies and activities, putting civilians in a more difficult situation.

?Now, they do worse things, killing unarmed villagers, attacking security agents, taxing farmers, herders and traders and imposing radical Islamist rules,? said our source.

Though authorities in Sokoto State called them a new terrorist group, many say they had existed for more than six years. Many northerners, including the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) claimed the sect had long existed.

According to ACF, the Department of State Services (DSS) is aware of their existence. However, DSS, through its online communication channel, told The Guardian that the allegation by ACF was ?false?. Sokoto State Police command had confirmed that the new terror group, Lakurawa is forcefully collecting cows from residents of some council areas in the state.

The group, which moves in large numbers, is also said to be fully armed. Their emergence is said to have put the state on high alert.The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), also known as IS-Sahel (Lakurawa), has reportedly intensified its influence across several local councils in Sokoto State.

Publicity Secretary of ACF, Professor Muhammad Baba Tukur, aligned with ex-DSS boss, Amachree, saying the root cause is challenging existential economic conditions as poverty is rife with livelihood opportunities limited.

His words: ?It is due to a combination of factors, and about four stand out as very critical determining factors for me, including challenging existential economic conditions; poverty is rife, livelihood opportunities are limited and often minuscule.?

Baba Tukur said: ?The second reason is low penetration of modern education and third is conservatism, itself a product of the first two, as it predisposes people to less innovation, easily giving in to fatalism as a governing philosophy and application to a unique perspective of life.?

According to him, ?one can add poor political governance system, low quality performance and a tendency for individualism, the latter of which manifests on the principle of me-I-and-myself.

?The absence of the principles of good governance and accountability in leadership processes can also be added in addition to corruption and impunity.? He said, ?it is also a result of grossly inadequate security personnel, equipment, and insufficiency as well as community lethargy.

?Massive mobilisation of the security office, determined confrontation such that the perpetrators of terrorism and high criminality are left in no doubts about the capacity and willingness to be intolerant of threats to national security in all its ramifications. Of government.

?This should be followed by non-kinetic measures that communities can evolve principles of basic security consciousness. Attention must also be given to the provision and enhancement of livelihood opportunities, fighting corruption and doing away with impunity, entrenchment of the principles of good governance.?

He concluded by saying, ?never should Lakurawa be allowed, by force and persuasion, to be embedded in the society by force. The failed, ineffective and insufficient containment strategy must be discarded: A system of identifying rogue elements among security forces and informants among the general population.?

The Guardian gathered that Lakurawa, or ?recruits? in Hausa, have begun enforcing strict mandates on residents, while reportedly smuggling essential supplies to terrorist networks throughout the Sahel region.

Recently, the Chairman of Tangaza Local Council of Sokoto State, Isa Salihu Kalenjeni raised the alarm over terrorists? new recruitment approach. He said the group offers youth one million naira for membership. The claim was buttressed by the Deputy Governor, Idris Gobir, who explained that the group possessed sophisticated weapons and their criminality rules in five council areas of the state. This unsettling development has emerged at a time when the state is already grappling with persistent banditry.

Spokesman of Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General Edward Buba, who announced the new terrorist group, had assured that the military would go after them.

In Sokoto State, IS Sahel has become entrenched in Gudu, Tangaza, Silame, Binji and Illela councils. The terrorists have reportedly banned vigilante activities within these communities, effectively disabling local security responses, and instituted Sharia-based mandates.

According to security expert, Zagazola Makama, these developments underscore an alarming expansion of extremist control, previously seen with Jama?a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) in the region, and further indicate the spread of ISIS and Al-Qaeda-linked factions from the broader Sahel area into Nigeria.

He said, ?the nefarious activities of dreaded terrorist in Nigeria, which has made lives and properties insecure in Nigeria could be attributed to the incursion of migrants from the Republics of Niger and Chad to Nigeria. Therefore, the burgeoning migrant smuggling and human trafficking industries do not only undermine the sovereignty of our country but also weaken the public confidence in the integrity of government policy.?

Responding to questions on why terrorist groups are finding it easy to settle in Northern Nigeria, Makama said Lakurawa?s complex history and cross-border connections make it a difficult threat to neutralise. He said the group?s alignment with local insurgent factions echoes the circumstances that gave rise to Boko Haram.

?This is a group with deep historical roots and a willingness to adapt its tactics, making it a highly destabilising force,? he said. He added: ?Large quantities of fuel, ammunition, and other supplies are reportedly transported across Nigeria?s borders, with items reaching terror groups across the Sahel and West African regions.?

To him, these supplies pass through Niger and, in some instances, Benin Republic to reach Kompienga, a province in eastern Burkina Faso, which is a known hotbed for terrorist activity.

?To effectively contain the Lukurawa group, a strategic, multi-dimensional approach is necessary given their complex history and their alliances with local and transnational extremist groups.

?We must strengthen intelligence and surveillance by conducting rigorous intelligence operations focused on ?Lukurawa?s recruitment methods, supply chains, and movement patterns is essential.? He also raised the need for ?enhanced surveillance?, both through human intelligence and technological resources like drones.

According to him, this can help preemptively to identify Lukurawa?s activities and deter attacks. He also said, ?community leaders who may have unofficial ties with the group should be sensitised on the risks of such alliances. Educating these communities on the broader security threats posed by Lukurawa, and providing alternative support or protection, can reduce the group?s influence.?

Sharing insight into why the north has become a haven for terrorists, Rear Admiral Babalola (Rtd) noted that the porous borders in Nigeria?s Northern frontiers, the largely arid and desert topography, the language, religious, economic and cultural ties with foreign elements from Niger, Chad and Cameroon, ineffectiveness, inadequate personal and large-scale corruption by security agencies are responsible. He also urged the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to wake up from its slumber, since the arms are coming from outside the country.

?This is coupled with the absence of border patrol efforts by Nigeria Immigrations. Their Air Border Patrol segment has been significantly degraded due to the unavailability of air assets.?

He added: ?The insurgency war continues to defy efforts by the military, police, intelligence and para military forces due to multifaceted factors like; inadequate equipment, intelligence failure, corruption, seeming lack of cooperation by the civilian populace who are either afraid of reprisals by the terrorists and those benefitting from the pogroms. Corruption by NGOs, security agencies and the civil populace has further exacerbated the problem.

?Today, security agencies have been overwhelmed as they are tackling cases of terrorism, banditry, armed robbery and insurrection in two third of the country. Fatigue and disillusionment are also setting in as security agencies find it increasingly difficult to rotate experienced and battle tested hands. We need to reduce boots on ground and embrace technology. We need more air assets like fighter planes, assault helicopters and attack drones.

?Our intelligence agencies, especially the National Intelligence Agency, would need to improve since the terrorists, arms and ammunition are mainly from outside the country. Though patriotism and nationalism are making us shy away from the use of mercenaries, I think it is time to consider this since the military has been overstretched. It is time to swallow our pride since security remains the bedrock of economic development.? (The Guardian)

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