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Lakurawa: All You Need To Know About ‘new’ terror group In Northern Nigeria

In 2017, local leaders in Sokoto State’s Gudu and Tangaza LGAs initially invited the Lakurawa group to address the growing threats from bandits from Zamfara State.

Nigerian military called them a relatively new terror group that infiltrated Sokoto and Kebbi states through the Niger Republic following the coup in Nigeria’s neighbor. Still, findings reveal that they had been active even before last year’s coup in Niger.

Last Thursday, the Nigerian Defence Headquarters described Lakurawa as a new terror group exacerbating insecurity in the North-west region.

“Troops are confronted with a new terrorist sect in the North-west,” Edward Buba, a military spokesperson said during a press conference. “This sect is known as Lukawaras, the Lukawaras are affiliated to terrorists in the Sahel, particularly from Mali and Niger Republic.”

Mr Buba, a major general, also claimed that the Lakurawas emerged from Mali and the Republic of Niger after last year’s coup in Niger led to the breakdown of military cooperation between the country and Nigeria.

Lakurawa Is Linked With al-Qaeda Terrorists

Since the military declared Lakurawa as a new terror group, there have been a lot of narratives about the group on social media as seen here and here. One narrative linked them to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahel (ISGS), but research published a few years ago counters that.

As explained in a 2022 study conducted by Murtala Rufa’i, James Barnett, and Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, the Lakurawa militants rejected the Boko Haram label and preferred to be called Mujahideen or Ansaru, the franchise of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Nigeria.

Like Lakurawa, the Ansaru terror group promises to protect locals in its strongholds. The group mainly targets military formations, although it also targets civilians who it considers spies or infidels. Ansaru terrorists, who could have the same ideology as Lakurawa, are believed to be present in parts of Kaduna, especially Birnin Gwari. This shows that jihadis are trying to penetrate the banditry-ravaged North-west

Lakurawa Is Not New, Started As A Group Of Mercenaries

According to a 2021 study by Mr Rufa’i, a historian with expertise in regional terrorism, the Lakurawa group was initially invited by local leaders in Gudu and Tangaza LGAs of Sokoto State in 2017 to address the growing threats by bandits from Zamfara State.

The “Zamfarawa bandits crossed from their strongholds in Zamfara to attack locals in Jina-Jini, Wassaniya, Tabaringa, Mulawa in Tangaza and Gudu LGAs. The bandits also terrorized eastern Sokoto communities in Isa, Sabon Birni, Rabah, Goronyo, and Illela LGAs,” Mr Rufa’i noted, adding: “The Islamic sect [Lakurawa] started with less than 50 indigenous youth in 2017, but this number has since increased to over 200, mainly young boys between the ages of 18–35.”

The Lakurawas, according to a traditional ruler in Balle, a village in Gudu LGA, are Malians who speak Arabic and Fulfulde languages. “They were invited to provide security to our communities,” the traditional ruler told Mr Ruf’ai in an interview in 2021.

“The District Head of Balle in Gudu Local Government together with the District Head of Gongono in Tangaza Local Government met with Alhaji Bello Wamakko, the then Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), and discussed how to tackle Zamfarawa (Bandits). They finally decided to hire Lakurawa from Mali to deal with Zamfarawa bandits. This was the first effort,” the traditional ruler had said, adding that he warned the then-Governor Aliyu Wamakko about the invitation of the Lakurawas.

When the media first reported the infiltration of armed Lakurawa in 2018, the police debunked the news, saying they were non-violent herders who “came to the area largely owing to availability of water for their animals.”

Cordelia Nwawe, the then-police spokesperson in Sokoto State, explained that the Malian group was sighted around Marake forest in Gudu LGA and Wassaniya, Tunigara, Mulawa, Jina-Jini villages in Tangaza LGA.

Lakurawa became violent when its members killed the district head of Tangaza, one of the traditional rulers who invited them. According to Mr Rufa’i, the group accused Mr Muktar, the district head’s son, of having N63 million in his custody. The Lakurawas made this claim after Mr Muktar died in a fire accident.

The group later killed the district head in his palace after the traditional ruler disputed their claim.

Before this, the group had been preaching its ideology to locals, collecting “Zakat” of livestock from herders, Bashiru Tagimba, a youth leader in Tagimba village told Mr. Rufa’i.

“They check people’s phones and break the memory cards that contain music,” Mr Tagimba said, adding that the group also flogged people who played or danced to music.

Wanton attacks on military formations in border towns by the Lakurawas propelled the Nigerian and Nigerien militaries to join forces, conducting a joint operation in late 2018, Messrs Rufa’i, Barnett and Abdulaziz stated in their study.

According to them, the joint operation checked the activities of the Lakurawas, but some locals still reported that they saw them in the area. This suggests that the terrorists only stopped attacking military targets.

Traditional and religious leaders who initially supported the Lakurawa terrorists later turned against them when the group’s actions deviated from the original purpose of their invitation

The Nigerian authorities’ failure to address the Lakurawa threat allowed the group to re-emerge in 2021. This time, it aligned with bandits and Fulani communities against the outlawed Yan Sakai vigilante group.

The coup in Niger and the collapsed joint military operations of Nigerian and Nigerien forces appear to have further emboldened the terror group.

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Why I stopped womanising – Daniel Etim-Effiong confesses

Nollywood actor Daniel Etim-Effiong has opened up about his past as a womaniser, admitting that while it was a short-lived phase in his life, it was a significant learning experience, one he now warns young men against repeating.

In a recent interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, the movie star admitted to dating multiple women simultaneously in his younger years.

Maybe there was a time in my life I was a womaniser. Definitions would differ, but in that definition, maybe there was a period in my life that I was, I wouldn’t say for long periods of my life. Maybe for certain periods that I explored. So, perhaps.

He described those moments as “periods of learning”. Still, he emphasised that such a lifestyle can lead to long-term consequences, especially for those looking to build stable relationships or marriages later in life.

es, they were periods of learning for me. If I learned, then they were good periods. I learned that certain things don’t necessarily bring you the fulfilment that you think they would. On paper, it feels like that is the life, but in experientially maybe not.

He urged young people to avoid developing habits they wouldn’t want to carry into marriage, warning that commitment is a muscle that must be built.

I tell young people a lot that it is cool to be a player but if you develop that habit or lifestyle, you won’t automatically change overnight. So, don’t develop something you don’t want to continue for the rest of your life. If you are not able to commit to one person, if you jump from one relationship to another, that won’t automatically change when you marry.

When you marry that muscle hasn’t been developed so you encounter one challenge and you want to immediately jump or you just be like, ‘I’m talking to you; you are not listening to me, let me find somebody that would listen to me.

If you are the kind of person who, before you got married, it was easy for you to just walk away, keep different relationships, keep ladies on the string, that won’t change when you get married.

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Akwa Ibom gov responds to daughter’s accusation over First Lady’s death

The Akwa Ibom State Government has responded to a viral video in which Jane Edidiong Ufot, daughter of Governor Umo Eno, tearfully suggested her father was linked to the death of her mother, the late First Lady Patience Umo Eno.

In the video, which has circulated widely on social media, Jane is seen saying: “I’m not a sacrifice, mummy was, but I’m not.”

She continued: “If I die today or my daughter dies, if we die because God is exposing the truth, so be it. But my blood will not go scot-free.”

The First Lady passed away on September 26, 2024.

In an official statement, the Commissioner for Information, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Umanah condemned what he described as “calculated attempts by detractors and self-styled ‘pastorpreneurs’ to exploit a deeply emotional family moment for political mischief.”

He described the clip as an “emotional outburst” from a grieving daughter, taken out of context and now weaponised against the Governor.

“It is disheartening that a private and traumatic moment involving a grieving young girl is now being maliciously weaponised,” the statement read.

The government emphasised that Jane never directly accused her father of causing her mother’s death.

“The public is reminded that at no point in the said video did the child accuse the Governor of causing her mother’s death, as falsely portrayed by mischief makers,” it added.

The statement also claimed that Jane had been influenced by “false prophets” and sought reassurance from her father during a difficult time.

Governor Eno himself addressed the controversy during a media interaction on May 31, 2025.

“My family is intact, and you can see all of them here, including Jane. That event happened immediately after my wife’s death last year. Why is it resurfacing now, on the eve of our second anniversary?” he said.

He appealed to the public to “allow my wife’s peaceful soul to rest,” urging people not to revive the tragedy for political amusement.

The government further expressed disappointment at those circulating the video, accusing them of being threatened by the administration’s achievements under its ARISE Agenda.

Governor Eno, described as a “humane and compassionate leader,” remains committed to serving the people of Akwa Ibom State, the statement concluded.

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Tinubu under pressure to drop Shettima as running mate

A Northern Islamic group has called on President Bola Tinubu to reconsider his choice of running mate for the 2027 presidential election, urging him to drop Vice President Kashim Shettima in favour of a Northern Christian.
The group, known as the Concerned Northern Muslim Ummah, made the call in a Sunday statement signed by its convener, Bala Duguri.

The appeal, it said, followed extensive consultations with Islamic organisations across Northern Nigeria.

“Our group has undertaken wider consultations across the northern states with different Islamic organisations in a bid to speak with one voice over the political direction in the APC-led administration. The outcome is very encouraging,” Duguri stated.

The group argues that the principle of religious balance is essential for national cohesion, especially after the Muslim-Muslim ticket that saw Tinubu and Shettima elected in 2023.

While that decision was controversial at the time, it ultimately garnered enough support to secure victory. However, Duguri stressed that the Christian community’s support during that election must now be acknowledged.

“The sacrifices made by our fellow Christian brothers and sisters in the 2023 presidential elections, in the spirit of unity and national progress, need to be acknowledged. It’s time for Muslim political actors to make similar sacrifices,” he said.

He further appealed to all Muslim aspirants eyeing the vice-presidential slot in 2027 to “drop their ambitions for the good of the country.”

The statement called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership and President Tinubu to adopt a more inclusive approach.

“After extensive consultations across religious, ethnic, and political lines in the North, we believe the most appropriate step forward is for a Northern Christian to be selected as the Vice Presidential candidate in 2027,” Duguri said.

Though Vice President Shettima has not commented publicly on the matter, speculation has swirled in political circles that Tinubu may be under pressure to reshuffle his ticket.

Duguri concluded that the group’s recommendation was based on “genuine concern for national cohesion, democratic stability, and the continued success of Tinubu’s government.”

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