In Sokoto, a newly identified extremist group called “Lakurawa” is reportedly offering significant financial rewards to local youth, seeking their allegiance through targeted recruitment efforts.
Sources informed Zagazola Makama, a Security Analyst and Counter-Insurgency Expert on Lake Chad, West Africa, that the group, allegedly comprising individuals from Mali, Chad, Libya, Niger, and Burkina Faso, is enticing young men with payments as high as one million naira to join their ranks.
According to a witness, “The financial lure is part of a recruitment campaign aimed at attracting followers to their cause.” Unlike typical criminal gangs, the Lakurawa are reportedly linked to the Khawarij sect, which shares ideological roots with Boko Haram, making their presence a new security concern.
The group’s strategy reportedly includes both monetary incentives and ideological persuasion, aiming to gain support among vulnerable communities in Sokoto.
Besides recruitment, Lakurawa members have reportedly confronted local bandits, seized their cattle, and expelled them from areas under their control.
Though they have not yet launched any attacks in northwestern Nigeria, their activities and reported ideology present a complex challenge for local security forces.
