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• Mera natives trace origin of group, lament killing of 17 villagers
• Miyyeti Allah distances self from attack, calls members of new terror group international criminals
• Demands support, assistance for victims of reprisal attack
From Olanrewaju Lawal Birnin Kebbi
For the people of Mera village in Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State under the Argungu Emirate, Friday November 8, would remain evergreen in the history of their community.
It was a day, the agrarian community was suddenly thrown into mourning as a result of an invasion by a new terror group, Lakurawa.
The invaders took the advantage of the odd hours when the community was preparing to go for the Jum’ah prayer between 12:00p.m and 1:00p.m to strike, using deadly weapons.
They killed 17 vigilantes, when the villagers rose to resist the rustle of their cattle numbering about 100, which a young boy took to the forest for grazing. The cattle were eventually rustled by the armed bandits suspected to be members of Lakurawa.
The helpless boy fled the scene to save his life.
However, a motorcyclist who was passing by at the scene was also captured, tortured and given N5,000, and asked to convey their message to the community that they were the ones responsible for the rustling of their cows as part of their ‘Zakkat’, which they must pay to them.
It was reported that the team mobilized by the community, mostly vigilante groups, went after the Lakurawa, but unknown to them, they had laid an ambushed for them and 13 of them were shot dead immediately by the gunmen who hid on tree top in the bush. Many others of the vigilantes sustained injuries while two were later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Two of the Lakurawa foot soldiers were also killed, but they were evacuated by their colleagues to avoid them being identified.
While the villagers, residents and other stakeholders have fingered Lakurawa to be behind the killing, many other residents of Kebbi still believe the murder of the 17 Mera villagers was the handiwork of bandits as Lakurawa was believed to be friendly with the rural communities.
Our Correspondent gathered that in the past, the group, which came from Mali, and Niger Republic, have been operating along border communities in Sokoto State under the guise of protecting people from bandits as they have been working on propagations of Islamic laws and jurisdiction since 2018.
In Sokoto State, Lakurawa was said to be very active in five LGAs such as Tangaza, Gudu, Slime, Benji and Illela while in Kebbi State, they are said to be roaming about communities sharing borders with Sokoto LGAs, and Niger Republic, where they are well known by the villagers.
Sources at the Mera village revealed that despite the bandit’s sophisticated weapons, the people of the village have resisted their threats on several occasions until on that fateful Friday, November 8, when the villagers were caught unawares.
Speaking about their invasion, a resident of the community, Mustapha Aliyu Mera, explained that the terrorists have been trying to invade their community, but the strong vigilantes of the village working under the state policing system have been resisting them.
He recalled that in the past, the community had decided not to hire the Fulanis to be taking care of their cows due to disappointments and betrayals.
Mera hinted that if the villagers bought cows, they used to hire Fulanis to be grazing them and pay them salary at the end of the month until unresolved issues like betrayal and disappointments started and continued unabated.
This, he said, has incurred the anger and jealousy from the Fulanis when they sighted young boys from the village grazing their cattle.
Sources at the community added that this unresolved decades cold war prompted the villagers to be suspecting the Fulanis for conspiring with Lakurawa to inflict terror on the community.
While giving an insight into what transpired, an indigene of Argungu town, Mallam Muhammed Jamilu Gulma told our Correspondent that it was the Lakurawa group that rustled the community’s cows which triggered the villagers to mobilize themselves to pursue them in an attempt to retrieve their cattle.
According to him, “the Lakurawa group did not attack the community. They rustled cows of the community which were in the forest for grazing with a boy. They took the advantage of the period when Muslims are preparing to go for Jum’ah prayer on Friday at about 12:00p.m and 1:00p.m. Though it is not new in that axis because in Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State, banditry has been happening in the area for a long time. So, when information reached the community that terrorists have rustled their cows, local vigilante groups mobilized themselves and went after the criminals. Don’t forget that Mera town is about 8 kilometers to Augie town and Augie town is Zaggi town, which shared borders with Sokoto State.”
Gulma disclosed that Mera in Augie LGA is closer to Gudu LGA, Silemi LGA in Sokoto State, which also has a forest linking Niger Republic.
He explained that the forest around the Gudu LGA, and Silemi LGA in Sokoto State makes it easier for the Lakurawa group and bandits to escape easily with their cattle.
Gulma also disclosed that “now a powerful committee has been set up which comprises Fulanis, Hausa, Argungu Emirate Council and government officials. They are now reconciling the bereaved villagers so that there would be peace.
“Because on Saturday, Mera villagers attacked Funalis in the area as they suspected them to be conspirators and we heard that seven of the Fulanis were killed. One of them was found with a pistol during interrogation by the community which propelled them to stage a reprisal attack. So, that was the reason a committee was set up to restore peace. As I am speaking with you, normalcy has returned to the community.”
Confirming the killing of 15 people at Mera village by suspected gunmen, Kebbi State Police Command, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Nafiu Abubakar, said that the deceased were killed in an attempt to rescue their cattle from the bandits.
He also confirmed the reprisal attack following the killing of 15 persons in Mera village by suspected bandits by a local security outfit named “Yan sa kai, which killed at least six Fulanis which they suspected to have collaborated with the bandits to wreak havoc in Mera.
According to him, “the attack is being investigated by the police . We are aware that six suspected gun-welding herders were reportedly killed by local security guards in Mera town.”
However, an indigene of Mera town, Bashir Isah Mera, who corroborated what the police said added that another two dead bodies of the people of Mera were recovered from the forest after the dust of the attack went down.
According to him, the recent discovery of two bodies raised the death toll to 17 against the earlier 15 that were buried on Saturday amid tears.
Another indigene of Mera, Abdullahi Mera, who narrating the community’s ordeal, explained that, “our community has been battling issues of kidnapping, banditry, and cattle rustling for some time. Although these criminal elements had moved away from our territory, they surprisingly returned, assuming that the community had relaxed its security measures.
“In 2023, we experienced a surge in kidnapping and banditry. However, through community policing efforts and measures taken by the previous government, we found relief. Unfortunately, these cattle rustlers re-emerged, targeting our cattle while they were being taken for grazing. During the incident, one of our community members was stopped, beaten, and given a message to convey to the community that the cattle rustlers had stolen our cattle. The community mobilized, including vigilante members, and chased the perpetrators into the bush. After a half-kilometer pursuit, we encountered them, but unknown to us, some rustlers had set up an ambush on a tree. They opened fire, killing eight persons and injured others. The community managed to kill one rustler and injured some, but the perpetrators quickly retrieved their dead and injured and escaped.
“Notably, these cattle rustlers have never made any demands or engaged with the community in negotiations. Given our commitment to community policing, it’s unlikely that we would agree to any negotiations with kidnappers or cattle rustlers. The community has resolved to continue community policing efforts to safeguard our territory.”
Already, the Kebbi State governor, Dr Nasir Idris, after the incident, mobilized state resources to soothe the pain and secure the community. The governor, represented by the Deputy Governor, Senator Umar Abubakar Tafida, was the first person to visit the village with the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Muhammad Samaila Mera where N50 million was donated to the victims of the attack.
Other stakeholders also donated N30 million and N10 million respectively.
It was learnt that the families of those that died in that confrontation got N3 million each, the injured people got N750,000 while those whose cattle were stolen got N200,000 each.
The State Government, according to Yahaya Danjada Argungu, a Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor, mobilized the Commissioner of Police, DSS State Director and other sister security agencies to the village where they all participated in the funeral prayers for the deceased.
The villagers who had fled the community, according to him, have returned home because of the presence of the security agencies.
According to him, Kebbi State Deputy Governor attended the funeral prayer for 15 victims of the tragic attack in Mera village, offering condolences and support to the grieving families.
“The funeral prayer was also attended by the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Muhammadu Mera, the Kebbi State Commissioner of Police, the Officer Commanding of the Nigerian Army, the Director of State Security, Kebbi State, Commissioner for Home and Internal Security Affairs, Director of Security Kebbi State, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Civil Defense and the Vigilante’ Commandant, among other government officials,” he said.
To ensure justice, the Kebbi State Government officially lodged complaint of Lakurawa terrorists attack to NSA, CDs for prompt interventions.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, in a statement made available to newsmen confirmed that Governor Idris had sent a high-powered delegation to the National Security Adviser(NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa, to request immediate support following the attacks on Mera village, which resulted to the killing of innocent villagers by Lakurawa.
The delegation, which was led by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu included Senator Bala ibn Na’Allah, the National Organising Secretary of the All Progressive (APC), Alhaji Suleiman Muhammad Argungu and Nasiru Ibrahim Junju, a lawyer.
He explained that their request was necessary considering the large number of the heavily armed bandits moving into the state from the neighbouring Sokoto State.
While dispellng rumour that some villages in Kebbi State are under the control of bandits or Lakurawa, Deputy Governor Tafida insisted that the report was not true and was just the imagination of the authors.
He said the Nigeria Army has taken over the security of the area as a result of the state governor’s delegation to the NSA, CDS, saying that, “this discussion was on ways to wipe out banditry and insurgency in Kebbi, Northwest and the North generally.”
Similarly, the people of Augie have applauded Governor Idris for his prompt action against the terrorists by mobilizing joint security forces to fish out the new Islamic sect, Lakurawa.
The Chairman, Augie local government, Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed Augie, made this known in Birnin Kebbi while addressing newsmen on the new development in the area.
He appreciated the support given to the security agencies by the state governor which he said, “is now yielding the desired results.”
On his part, the Director, Security, Cabinet Office, Birnin Kebbi, AbdurRahman Zagga, confirmed that joint security forces were already in the bush trailing the culprits.
The director appreciated the efforts of the governor for providing all the necessary logistic supports to the security agencies to ensure success of the operation.
Reacting to the allegations of involvement of Fulanis in the attack, the Kebbi State Chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), a Fulani group, distanced itself from the recent killings in Kebbi.
The group also condemned the killing of six indigenous Fulani and the destruction of 185 settlements and 42 grain silos in a reprisal attack.
The Secretary of MACBAN in the state, Abubakar Lamido, in a statement disclosed that the terror group known as Lakurawa has been terrorising pastoralists through forceful taxation called Zakat, and sometimes confiscated their animals and collected money ranging from N300,000 to N20 million,120 cows, 51 goats and sheep from Fulani cattle rearers in the Augie area of the state.
“Lakurawa are hardened criminals, and should be treated as such. We are not associated with them. We are worst affected by their illegalities,” he said.
The association added that members of the terror group are international criminals, and have been moving freely with sophisticated weapons around Gudu Local Government Area of Sokoto State, Arewa Local Government Area of Kebbi State, and around Nigeria and Niger Republic borders.
They appealed for urgent support and assistance from relevant authorities for the victims of the reprisal attack, saying that they had lost foodstuff they harvested, shelter and cattle.
