The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on the federal government to crush the new terrorist group Lakurawa, in the Northwest states of Kebbi and Sokoto before it becomes another nightmare in the region.
In a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the forum, Professor Muhammad Tukur Baba, on Sunday, the forum noted that the group has been reported to be terrorizing communities, attacking National Security agents and local vigilante outfits, and enforcing compliance with its brand of justice.
Additionally, although membership of the group is reported to be of foreign origin (speaking French and a dialect of Arabic), it is said to recruit members using monetary incentives and/or force.
The statement reads, “Already, within the last 48 hours, the group has attacked communities in Argungu Local Government Area, killing 15 persons. This development is simply one too many.
“ACF considers the emergence of this group very dangerous and alarming as it indicates an escalation in the already devastating state of insecurity in the Northwest, now Nigeria’s epicenter of terrorism.
“Coming amid signs of success from the renewed vigor by the Nigerian military to decapitate banditry in this zone, the new development raises serious concerns as a further grave challenge to Nigeria’s National Security interests.
“Thus, the group should not be toyed with in any form and must be addressed with utmost seriousness. Lakurawa, at this incipient stage of its emergence, must not be tolerated or allowed to embed itself within our communities through benign neglect or lenient treatment, as was the case with the Boko Haram insurgency, farmer-herder clashes, and banditry in the Northeast, Northcentral, and Northwest areas, respectively.
“This is the moment for our security agencies to act swiftly and decisively to subdue and dismantle the Lakurawa terror gangs with all available human and material resources, without hesitation.
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“For the umpteenth time, ACF urges an immediate, comprehensive, and thorough re-evaluation of Nigeria’s National Security strategies and tactics, such as to leave no doubt about the national resolve to decisively address any and all threats to Nigeria’s peace and stability posed by terror groups of any form or description.
“ACF believes this development highlights the need for the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MJTF) arrangement with neighboring countries to be reinvigorated and reinforced. Niger Republic must be persuaded to rejoin this effort.
“The visit to Niger Republic earlier this year by Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, should be utilized as a foundation for renewed cross-border international efforts to address terrorism.
“The Federal Government (FGN), state, and local authorities should also leverage the close and complex historic socio-cultural, economic, and political ties with Nigeria’s neighbors to confront the mutual existential security threats posed by terror groups.
“To this end, ACF calls for intensified intelligence gathering, processing, storage, retrieval, deployment, and utilization.
“ACF also calls for attention to the possible involvement of local informants within communities, emphasizing that such individuals, regardless of their position in society, must be made aware of the severe consequences of any involvement with terror groups in any form.”
