Lakurawa
{{Short description|Nigerian rebel group}}
{{Lead extra info|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox War Faction
| name = Lakurawa
| native_name = Lakurawa
| native_name_lang = ha
| image =
| caption =
| war = the Boko Haram insurgency
| active = {{circa}} 2016 – present
| ideology = Islamic Statism
| leaders = Ameer Habib Tajje
| allegiance = {{flag|Islamic State}}
| clans =
| headquarters =
| area = Northern Nigeria, Mali, Niger
| size =
| partof = {{flag icon|Islamic State}} Islamic State - Sahel Province
| allies = {{flag icon|Islamic State}} Islamic State - Sahel Province{{Cite web |title=Letter dated 15 July 2019 from the Chair of the Security Council
Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and
2253 (2015) concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
(Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings
and entities addressed to the President of the Security Council |url=https://docs.un.org/en/S/2019/570 |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=docs.un.org}}
{{flag icon|Islamic State}} Islamic State - West Africa Province
| opponents = {{flag|Niger}}
{{flag|Mali}}
{{flag|Nigeria}}
Some Nigerian bandit groups
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant2.svg}} Boko Haram
| battles = Nigerian bandit conflict
}}
Lakurawa is an armed group affiliated with the Islamic State Sahel Province{{Cite web |title=Africa File, April 24, 2025: JNIM’s Growing Pressure on Benin; Turkey to Somalia; Salafi-Jihadi Cells Continue to Grow Across Nigeria |url=https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/africa-file-april-24-2025-jnims-growing-pressure-on-benin-turkey-to-somalia-salafi-jihadi-cells-continue-to-grow-across-nigeria |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=Critical Threats}}{{Cite web |title=Letter dated 6 February 2025 from the President of the
Security Council acting in the absence of a Chair of the
Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999),
1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning Islamic State in Iraq and
the Levant (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups,
undertakings and entities addressed to the President of the
Security Council |url=https://docs.un.org/en/S/2025/71 |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=docs.un.org}} operating in Mali, Niger, and Kebbi and Sokoto States of Nigeria. Their activities are concentrated in five LGAs of Sokoto State, namely: Tangaza, Gudu, Illela, Binji, and Silame. Initially founded as a self-defense group to fight criminals in the Nigerian bandit conflict, the group eventually became increasingly radical, oppressive, and opposed to regular state agencies.{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.com/hausa/articles/cr7nzdx3xvdo|date= 6 November 2024|accessdate= 10 November 2024 |website= bbc.hausa.com|title= Su wane ne Lakurawa masu iƙirarin jihadi da ke barazana ga tsaron jihar Sokoto?|language= ha}}{{cite news|url = https://hausa.legit.ng/news/1623430-kungiyar-yan-taadda-na-raba-miliyoyi-kan-daukar-matasan-arewa/|title= Sabuwar Kungiyar Yan Ta'adda na Raba Miliyoyi Domin Rudar Matasan Arewa|date= 6 November 2024 |accessdate = 10 November 2024 |publisher= hausa.legit.ng|last= Yusuf|first= Ibrahim|language = ha}}{{Cite web |date=11 November 2024 |title=Who are the Lakurawa insurgent group threatening Nigeria? |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/who-are-lakurawa-insurgent-group-threatening-nigeria-2024-11-11/ |access-date=13 November 2024 |website=Reuters}} Lakurawa has connections to the Islamic State, and was described as a "terrorist" group in 2024.{{Cite web |author1=Ibrahim Adeyemi |author2=Mansir Muhammed |author3=Alamin Umar |date=12 November 2024 |title=Mapping the Dangerous Enclaves of Lakurawa Terrorists in North West Nigeria |url=https://humanglemedia.com/mapping-the-dangerous-enclaves-of-lakurawa-terrorists-in-north-west-nigeria/ |access-date=23 November 2024 |website=HumAngle}}
Lakurawa claims to protect against bandits, but imposes strict religious laws, and youths have been beaten for shaving beards, having hairstyles, or listening to music.{{cite news |last=Isamotu |first=Idowu |date=November 2024 |title=How Lakurawa members are terrorising us – Sokoto residents |url=https://dailytrust.com/how-lakurawa-members-are-terrorising-us-sokoto-residents/ |accessdate=10 November 2024 |publisher=dailytrust.com}} They enforce zakat payment, confiscating cattle from non-compliers. Similar to Boko Haram, they communicate in Azbinanci, Zabarmanci, Barbanci, and Hausa. Lakurawa recruits youths with ₦1,000,000.{{cite news |last=Are |first=Jesupemi |date=9 November 2024 |title=Report: Lakurawa luring Sokoto youths with financial incentives |url=https://www.thecable.ng/report-lakurawas-terrorists-luring-sokoto-youths-with-financial-incentives/ |accessdate=10 November 2024 |publisher=thecable.ng}}
The name "Lakurawa" comes from a Hausa adaptation of the French word les recrues, meaning "the recruits".{{Cite web |date=2025-04-15 |title=A “Sahelian” or a “Littoral” Crisis? Examining the Widening of Nigeria’s Boko Haram Conflict {{!}} Hudson Institute |url=https://www.hudson.org/sahelian-or-littoral-crisis-examining-widening-nigerias-boko-haram-conflict |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=www.hudson.org |language=en}}
Ameer Habib Tajje serves as the leader of Lakurawa. He made headlines by releasing a warning to notorious bandit leader Bello Turji, urging him to relinquish his criminal activities.{{cite news |last=Opejobi |first=Seun |date=12 November 2024 |title=Renounce criminal activities – Lakurawa warns Bello Turji |url=https://dailypost.ng/2024/11/12/renounce-criminal-activities-lakurawa-warns-bello-turji/#google_vignette |accessdate=12 November 2024 |website=dailypost.ng}}
History
Lakurawa has existed since around 2016/2017, and the Nigerian government was reportedly aware of its existence.{{cite news|url=https://www.channelstv.com/2024/11/11/lakurawa-not-a-new-terror-group-acf-bukarti/|date= 11 November 2024 |accessdate = 12 November 2024 |title = Lakurawa Not A New Terror Group — ACF, Bukarti|last= Egobiambu|first = Emmanuel|website = channelstv.com}} The group initially presented itself as a self-defense force, set up to help communities in northern Nigeria to defend themselves from increasingly frequent bandit attacks.
By 2017, Lakurawa had established a base near Gudu and Tangaza LGAs, only about 60 miles from Sokoto city. Starting with fewer than 50 local youths, its ranks swelled to over 200, mainly young men aged 18 to 35, drawn in by stipends and radical teachings. Members emphasized purity, adopted heterodox and esoteric interpretations of Islam, and deliberately distanced themselves from mainstream society. They established "Darul Islam" camps in villages like Gwangwano, Mulawa, Wansaniya, and Tunigara, along the Nigeria–Niger border.{{Cite journal |date=2023-11-16 |title=Importing Militant Jihadists : Analysing the Response of Traditional Authorities to Muslim Youth Extremism in the Nigeria-Niger Border Areas of Sokoto State |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003428596-10/importing-militant-jihadists-murtala-ahmed-rufa |journal=Taylor & Francis |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781003428596-10/importing-militant-jihadists-murtala-ahmed-rufa |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240512162850/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003428596-10/importing-militant-jihadists-murtala-ahmed-rufa |archive-date=2024-05-12}}
Lakurawa reportedly first emerged in the Gongono Forest, Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State, in 2018.{{cite news |date=10 November 2024 |title=Revealed: How herdsmen invited new terrorist group, Lakurawa, to Sokoto |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/11/revealed-how-herdsmen-invited-new-terrorist-group-lakurawa-to-sokoto/ |accessdate=10 November 2024 |website=vanguard.com}} According to other sources, Lakurawa has existed since around 2016/2017, and the Nigerian government was reportedly aware of its existence.{{cite news |last=Egobiambu |first=Emmanuel |date=11 November 2024 |title=Lakurawa Not A New Terror Group — ACF, Bukarti |url=https://www.channelstv.com/2024/11/11/lakurawa-not-a-new-terror-group-acf-bukarti/ |accessdate=12 November 2024 |website=channelstv.com}} The group initially presented itself as a self-defense force, set up to help communities in northern Nigeria to defend themselves from increasingly frequent bandit attacks. Feeling abandoned by the Nigerian security forces, many locals welcomed Lakurawa's rise at first, but the group became increasingly radical and oppressive over time. Concentrating on other targets, the Nigerian security forces also tolerated the militia during its first years.{{Cite web |author1=Ibrahim Adeyemi |author2=Mansir Muhammed |author3=Alamin Umar |date=12 November 2024 |title=Mapping the Dangerous Enclaves of Lakurawa Terrorists in North West Nigeria |url=https://humanglemedia.com/mapping-the-dangerous-enclaves-of-lakurawa-terrorists-in-north-west-nigeria/ |access-date=23 November 2024 |website=HumAngle}} After the militiant group tried to embed itself in Sokoto, a joint Nigerian-Nigerian offensive had rooted them out.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-15 |title=A “Sahelian” or a “Littoral” Crisis? Examining the Widening of Nigeria’s Boko Haram Conflict {{!}} Hudson Institute |url=https://www.hudson.org/sahelian-or-littoral-crisis-examining-widening-nigerias-boko-haram-conflict |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=www.hudson.org |language=en}}
By 2023, Lakurawa had become a greater problem to many northern Nigerian communities than the bandits, as it raised taxes, attacked security forces, imposed Islamist laws, and killed civilians. In November 2024, the militia was officially called a "terrorist" group by Nigerian authorities; by this point, it had some presence in an area covering about 500 villages. In the same month, militants of the group attacked Mera village in Augie local government area of Kebbi state where they killed 15–25 people.{{cite news|url=https://tribuneonlineng.com/15-killed-as-kebbi-community-fights-off-lakurawa-terrorist-attack/|date = 9 November 2024 |accessdate = 10 November 2024 |website= tribuneonlineng.com|title =15 killed as Kebbi community fights off Lakurawa terrorist attack|last= Sabiu |first= Muhammad}}
In September 2024, UN reporting confirmed that Lakurawa, also referred to locally as Lukarawa, had re-emerged in northern Kebbi and northwest Sokoto States, with suspected affiliations to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). The group had entered Nigeria from Mali in 2017, initially as a vigilante force. It was expelled by Nigerian forces in 2022, retreating into Niger, where it established a logistics hub near Birni-N’Konni and an operational base in Serma, Tahoua Region.
The group's fighters, estimated at over 200 include members from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. They are heavily armed with small arms, light weapons, explosives, surveillance drones, and satellite communications equipment. It has also sought to recruit criminal bandits in Zamfara State to bolster its strength and establish an Islamic state in northwestern Nigeria.{{Cite web |last=ADF |date=2025-01-28 |title=Le Nigeria lance une campagne contre le groupe terroriste Lakurawa - Africa Defense Forum |url=https://adf-magazine.com/fr/2025/01/le-nigeria-lance-une-campagne-contre-le-groupe-terroriste-lakurawa/ |access-date=2025-05-01 |language=fr-FR}}
on March 11 2025, Militants from the Lakurawa group on March 11 attacked Birnin Dede and six villages near the border with Niger, Kebbi state police spokesman Nafiu Abubakar said, to avenge the killing of their commander by security forces in the area.{{Cite web |last=AFP |first=Staff Writer With |date=2025-03-11 |title=11 Killed in Jihadist Revenge Attack in Nigeria |url=https://thedefensepost.com/2025/03/11/jihadist-revenge-attack-nigeria/ |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=The Defense Post |language=en-US}}