Former Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mike Ejiofor, has disclosed that the insurgent group Lakurawa, recently recognised for its operations in Nigeria’s North-West region, has operated for decades.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Ejiofor denied that the group is new, stating it was born in the Niger Republic and Mali. The development comes after the Defence Headquarters affirmed the establishment of Lakurawa, a terrorist organisation in Sokoto and Kebbi states.
“The reality is, they’re not new,” Ejiofor told the press. Ibrahim Baré Manassara, the Nigerien military chief of state, created the group as a vigilante organisation working alongside them. The Nigerien authorities left them after he died, and they’ve been scattered”.
Ejiofor said one of the district heads in Sokoto State contacted the group for security assistance but did not know what they were doing.
The Sokoto State government had already tried to kick the organisation out by 2018 when its behaviour became problematic. “A section of the Mali team went home after the negotiations, while the Niger contingent remained and kept working,” he said.
Because Lakurawa is smaller than Boko Haram, Ejiofor said, the government and military have an opportunity to eradicate the group. He called for immediate action to curb the growing insecurity.
