Kehinde Fajobi
A Kebbi State delegation, led by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu, has urged the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, to swiftly eliminate the new terror group, Lukarawas, from the region.
Bagudu, accompanied by Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah and APC National Organising Secretary Alhaji Suleiman Argungu, visited Gen. Musa to highlight the urgent security threat posed by the group.
In a statement on Sunday, Ahmed Idris, Chief Press Secretary to Kebbi Governor Nasir Idris, stated that the CDS assured the delegation of military action.
“The minister informed the CDS that the essence of their visit was to intimate [him] on the need for immediate action to bring an end to the current security challenge facing not only Kebbi but the country at large,” Idris said.
On Wednesday, the Defence Headquarters alerted Nigerians to the presence of Lukarawas in Sokoto and Kebbi, noting that the group had entered from Niger and the Sahel.
Just days later, the group launched a deadly attack on Mera village in Kebbi’s Augie Local Government Area, killing 15 people.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) also pressed the government to address this threat urgently. In a statement, ACF National Publicity Secretary Prof. Tukur Mohammed Baba described Lukarawas as “very dangerous and alarming,” warning that its emergence signals an escalation of insecurity in the Northwest.
He cautioned that ignoring the group could lead to a situation similar to the Boko Haram crisis in the Northeast.
Baba highlighted the group’s tactics, which include recruitment through monetary incentives or coercion, and noted that many members appear to be of foreign origin.
“ACF considers the emergence of this group as very dangerous and alarming as it indicates an escalation in the very devastating state of insecurity in the Northwest, now the Nigeria’s epicentre of terrorism,” he stated.
The ACF recommended intensified intelligence gathering, community involvement, and strengthened collaboration with neighbouring countries to counter Lukarawas.
The group urged security agencies to act decisively, warning, “This is the moment for our security agencies to move fast, and urgently too, to subjugate and decapitate the Lukarawas terror gangs.”