Suspected Lakurawa terrorists have killed more than 30 people in coordinated attacks on seven villages in the Bui District of Arewa Local Government Area, Kebbi State, police have confirmed.
Members of the Lakurawa group attacked villages in the Bui district of Arewa northern region at around 1:15 pm (1215 GMT) Wednesday, said Kebbi State Police spokesman Bashir Usman.
A security report said the jihadists had killed “more than 30 villagers”, though a resident told AFP that at least 35 people had been killed.
Police spokesman Usman told AFP: “Scores of people were killed as residents from Mamunu, Awasaka, Tungan Tsoho, Makangara, Kanzo, Gorun Naidal, and Dan Mai Ago mobilised to resist the attackers”.
The hardest-hit community was Mamunu, where 16 people lost their lives. Five youths were killed in Awashaka, while three residents were killed in Masama. Two people each were killed in Gorin Dena, Kamzo, Dan Mai Rago, Tungar Bature, and Tungar Tsoho communities.
“We were in our homes, we heard gunshots,” said a resident of Kanzo. “People outside began to run into their shelters, gunshots hit some people,” he added.
Police spokesman Usman said the attackers had also made off with cattle in the raids.
Reacting on behalf of the government, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, Abdullahi Idris Zuru, said the state was deeply concerned about the killings, which he described as attacks on innocent residents observing the Ramadan fast.
Zuru stated that the government under Nasir Idris was committed to deploying all available resources to enhance security across the affected areas.
The attacks came days after the state hosted the UNESCO-listed Argungu fishing festival, about 60 kilometres (38 miles) from the Arewa region, where the attacks took place.
The Lakurawa group has been blamed for many of the attacks on communities in the northern part of the state and in neighbouring Sokoto state. Its members stage raids from their forest base, rustling livestock and imposing “taxes” on locals.
Some researchers have linked the group to the Islamic State Sahel Province, which is active mainly in neighbouring Niger and Mali, though others remain doubtful.
The latest attacks underscore the worsening security situation in Kebbi’s northern senatorial district, with residents calling on authorities to take urgent and decisive action to end the cycle of violence and restore safety to affected communities.