Nigeria establishes joint border patrol with Chad and Niger to combat new terrorist threat

CHAD and Niger Republic have joined forces with Nigeria to initiate a new joint border patrol service to combat the rise of the new West African terrorist group Lakurawa that poses a fresh security threat in the region.

Over recent weeks, Nigeria's defence headquarters has confirmed the emergence of a new terrorist organisation in Sokoto State known as Lukarawa, that is making life unbearable for residents across the northwest geo-political zone. Last month for instance 15 victims of an attack by on Mera village, in Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State, were given a mass burial.

To combat this new menace, the Nigerian Army and their counterparts in Chad, Niger, and other neighbouring countries have commenced joint patrols. Lakurawa, affiliated with terrorists in the Sahel, particularly from Mali and Niger Republic, became a national security challenge after launching its first audacious attack on November 4.

Last month, the group set up camps in 10 local government areas of Sokoto and Bauchi states before its operations became known to the public. Members of the terror group initially established camps in villages bordering Nigeria and Niger Republic, including Gwanaguano, Mulawa, Wassinya, and Turigaic communities.

They use Hausa, Fulfulde and Arabic languages in their preaching while they named their camp Dar-ul-Islam. One researcher with the Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University in Sokoto, Dr Murtala Rufa’i, said the group had been planning to establish its caliphate for over 25 years.

He added: “Their ages are between 18 and 50 years. They have been attacking villages in Gudu, Tangaza, Illela, and other local governments to collect taxes, though they did not kill anyone until the recent Mera attack."

A community leader in Tangaza Local Government Area, added:  “They will count the number of cattle in their custody and calculate the tax based on the percentage which they will take from the cattle.”

According to Dr Rufa’i, the group had between 1,500 and 1,800 followers, including clerics and youths in the Tangaza and Gudu axis, the ancestral home of the Lakurawa leaders. He said the group was dislodged by combined security agents around 2020 but later regrouped in December 2023.

Lakurawa is a Mali-based group known in the Sahel as Jama’atu Muslimina, with members cutting across different tribes and sects. Its leader is Ahmadu Kofa, whose ancestors were originally Nigerians from a community called Kofa under the old Kebbi Empire.