In Nigeria, the army says it faces an additional security threat in the northwest of the country. According to her, a new armed movement, called Lakurawa, has carried out incursions into the states of Sokoto and Kebbi, two Nigerian states bordering Niger.
1 minute
The army spokesperson Nigeria makes a link between the July 2023 coup in Niger and the emergence of this new armed group in northwest Nigeria. Indeed, for Major General Edward Buba, the overthrow, in Niamey, of Mohamed Bazouma little over a year ago, by the soldiers of the National Council for the Protection of the Fatherland (CNSP), disrupted joint border patrols for a time.
These patrols have since resumed, but the Nigerian army says it remains vigilant in a context where the northwest has already been confronted, for years, with armed gangs and the increase in kidnappings for ransoms.
However, according to the Nigerian investigative platform HumAngle, contrary to official statements, this is not the emergence of a new threat, but rather the resurgence of a movement that has already carried out incursions into the state. from Sokoto, six years ago.
The Dutch Institute of International Relations, Clingendael, recalls that in October 2018, a group suspected of being affiliated with the Islamic State movement – in the Sahel province – was initially well received at the local level. Villagers nicknamed Lakurawa (in Hausa) the members of this movement offering protection against bandits, before they tried to impose strict governance on residents, modeled on the Islamic State group.
Also readCoup d’état in Niger: Nigeria evokes a possible transition, ECOWAS denies