ISSP-linked Lakurawa jihadists
New Delhi: At least two villages in central Nigeria’s Niger State came under attack during August 21 prayers, with fighters from the ISSP-linked Lakurawa jihadist group killing and abducting residents before a rival militant faction intervened and sparked a gun battle that enabled some villagers to escape.
The attacks took place on August 21 in Dikera and nearby Binzi in Borgu Local Government Area, close to Nigeria’s borders with Kebbi and Kwara states and neighbouring Benin. The region has increasingly faced violence from armed groups exploiting porous borders, remote forests and limited government presence across northwestern Nigeria and the wider Sahel.
Jibril Ahmad, a survivor from Dikera, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that hundreds of Lakurawa fighters entered the village shortly after worshippers completed Friday prayers. The attackers were armed with guns, knives and machetes and began assaulting residents.
According to Ahmad, some villagers were killed after the militants accused them of failing to follow Islamic teachings.
The exact number of people killed or abducted remained unknown on Saturday. Federal lawmaker Jafaru Mohammed, who represents the area, said numerous people were killed in the attacks and many others were taken into surrounding forests, including areas towards Kainji Lake.
Mohammed confirmed that Binzi was also attacked, saying that young men and heads of households were among those abducted. Local accounts further indicated that a chief imam and a village head who had only recently been released from captivity were among those taken.
Niger State police said they were aware that worshippers had been kidnapped but initially reported receiving no information about deaths. Authorities said difficult terrain and poor roads were hampering efforts to reach the affected communities and conduct rescue operations.
The assault was disrupted when fighters from another militant faction, known as Mahmuda or Mamudawa, confronted the Lakurawa attackers. The two groups engaged in a clash, allowing some residents to flee while Lakurawa fighters were distracted by the fighting.
Ahmad said many villagers escaped during the confrontation. Mohammed said Mahmuda fighters intervened after learning about the attack and fought Lakurawa because of differences between the two groups. However, many residents had already been taken towards nearby forests.
Lakurawa, also spelled Lakuwara or Lukarawa, is a relatively obscure jihadist organisation operating across northwestern Nigeria and parts of the Sahel. Researchers have linked the group to the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), which operates across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The group emerged around 2017 in communities along Nigeria’s northwestern border and initially presented itself in some areas as a force against banditry. It later developed into a militant organisation accused of imposing strict religious rules, attacking communities, seizing livestock and abducting civilians.
Nigerian authorities formally designated Lakurawa a terrorist organisation in late 2024. Its emergence has added another layer to Nigeria’s complex security crisis, which already involves jihadist organisations, criminal gangs and armed groups operating from vast forested areas.
Mahmuda is another militant faction active in the region. Nigerian authorities said in 2025 that they had dismantled Mahmuda and the related Ansaru network after arresting senior members. The participation of Mahmuda terrorists in Friday’s clash indicates that elements of the network may remain active or that parts of its organisational structure survived earlier security operations.
The violence underscores the increasingly fragmented nature of Nigeria’s prolonged insurgency. The country has faced jihadist violence for nearly 17 years, with the conflict initially centred in the northeast, where Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have carried out deadly attacks, mass kidnappings and other abuses.
Mass abduction has become a defining feature of Nigeria’s security crisis. The 2014 kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls from Chibok by Boko Haram became one of the most notorious incidents of the insurgency.
The violence has since spread beyond northeastern Nigeria. Jihadist factions, criminal gangs and Sahel-based armed groups have exploited weak security, porous international borders and extensive forests to expand their operations.
Niger State and neighbouring areas have become increasingly vulnerable to such attacks as armed groups move through border communities and establish hideouts in remote forests. The wider security environment has also been affected by instability across the Sahel, including the 2023 military coup in neighbouring Niger, which disrupted established regional security arrangements.
The latest attacks in Dikera and Binzi demonstrate how Nigeria’s security challenges are becoming increasingly interconnected, with competing militant groups, jihadist networks and criminal organisations operating across difficult-to-police areas and leaving rural communities exposed to killings, kidnappings and prolonged insecurity.
