A senior fellow at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Bulama Bukarti, has raised concerns over the surveillance activities of the Lakurawa insurgent group in the North-West region of Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Bukarti, a human rights lawyer and expert on extremism, highlighted the growing threat posed by the group.
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Bukarti revealed that the insurgents have been monitoring communities and military formations using sophisticated weaponry, including drones. “Not only do they have heavy weapons, but they also have drones and are surveilling villages and military formations with them,” Bukarti stated.
He emphasized the need for urgent action, noting, “We should take the security threat in a region already divided by bandit violence very seriously.”
Contrary to recent reports suggesting that the group emerged from the Republic of Niger following a military coup, Bukarti argued that the Lakurawa insurgents are not a new faction. He explained that their ideology mirrors that of Boko Haram, despite presenting themselves as protectors rather than aggressors.
“Their ideology is not different from that of Boko Haram, except that they present themselves more like police because they claim not to want to kill the people. They say they are only fighting the government and its apparatus,” Bukarti added.
Despite the group’s efforts to gain local support, Bukarti’s research indicates that they have not been accepted by the communities. He noted, “My research so far has revealed that they have not been accepted by the communities. I have not found an example of local young people joining them. They are still foreigners. But they are large in number based on the information I am getting.”
The Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, supported Bukarti’s claims, confirming that the group has been active since 2017 or 2018. He alleged that the Department of State Services (DSS) is aware of their presence and activities.
Muhammad-Baba expressed concerns over the group’s attempt to establish an alternative justice system in local communities, which could lead to enforcing the closure of schools and clinics.
“We fear they will go further, like closing schools and clinics,” Muhammad-Baba warned. He stressed that the insurgents’ actions could escalate if they are not stopped from trying to assert their authority in the North-West, adding, “We cannot allow that. If we are talking about Islamic law, Sokoto has Sharia law. But this is not the type of Sharia they are practising.”
The emergence of the Lakurawa insurgent group and their activities in the region have heightened security concerns, with calls for increased vigilance and a coordinated response to curb their influence.
