A new terror group known as Lakurawa, has in a deadly attack killed 15 people in Mera town, located in the Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi state on Friday.
The group has been wreaking havoc across Sokoto and Kebbi states in the last few months.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) had on Thursday confirmed the emergence of the new terror group.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, while briefing journalists at the DHQ said that the military has been closely monitoring the group’s movements and is actively developing counter-strategies to address the growing security threat posed by group in the region.
The attack occurred just as local residents were preparing for the Jumaat prayers.
Alhaji Bashir Mera, a local resident confirmed that the armed group raided the town, seizing over one hundred cattle and leaving destruction in their wake.
He said the assailants fled the scene with their spoils, after large number of locals gathered to pursue the attackers in the in a bid to recover the stolen cattle.
He said the confrontation quickly escalated into an armed clash, with gunfire exchanged between the local residents and the terror group.
According to him, the violence resulted in the deaths of fifteen villagers and two members of the Lakurawa group.
A second eyewitness, identified only as Yarima, explained that while the Lakurawa group had previously confined their activities to cattle rustling, demanding Zakat (a form of Muslim charity) from wealthy families, this attack marked a more violent turn in their operations.
“The group had been active for nearly two months, stealing cattle but avoiding casualties until this deadly confrontation in Mera,” he said.
Yarima also revealed that the group’s activities are primarily coordinated from Sokoto, which has become a central base of their operations.