Fifteen people were killed in an attack on Mera village in Nigeria’s Kebbi State, officials confirmed on Saturday, as concerns rise over a new jihadist group reportedly active in the region.
Kebbi’s deputy governor, Umar Tafida, reported that Friday’s assault on Mera, located around 50 kilometers from the Niger border, was carried out by “unknown gunmen.” However, the incident follows recent warnings from local officials about an Islamist faction known as “Lakurawa,” believed to have entered Nigeria from Mali and Niger.
Umar Tafida and senior security personnel attended the funeral prayers for the victims in Mera on Saturday, according to an official statement.
Since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009, Nigeria has grappled with waves of violent attacks, kidnappings, and widespread unrest, predominantly in the Lake Chad basin. Numerous militant factions have since branched off, complicating the security landscape, while armed bandit groups and clashes between local farmers and nomadic herders have further destabilized the country’s northwest.
On Tuesday, Idris Muhammad Gobir, the deputy governor of neighboring Sokoto State, briefed federal military officials on the emergence of the Lakurawa group. He reported that the group, known to carry advanced weaponry, had initiated criminal operations across at least five local government areas and had established camps in Tsauni Forest, a dense woodland region extending into Niger.
The militants, who settled near the Niger border approximately two months ago, have allegedly imposed “taxes” on nearby communities, rustled livestock, and preached their strict interpretation of sharia law. According to Isa Salihu Kalenjeni, Tangaza district’s political administrator, the group has been encouraging locals to rebel against secular authorities and actively recruits young men, providing them with startup funds for small businesses.
In Friday’s attack, the militants struck Mera while residents were in a mosque for prayers, seizing livestock from the community. Bashir Isah, a community leader in Mera, said villagers tried to defend their herds but lost 15 people in the ensuing confrontation with the heavily armed assailants.
The violence in Nigeria’s northwest has exacerbated food insecurity in the region, with UN agencies warning that over 33 million Nigerians could experience “acute food insecurity” by next year.
