Jihadists gather residents, preach in Niger community near Kainji forest

Heavily armed jihadists on Sunday rode into Zugurma, a community in Niger State on the fringe of Kainji Lake National Park, where they assembled residents and delivered a sermon that included threats against thieves, smokers and Fulani herders, according to residents.

Sources, including witnesses, told PREMIUM TIMES that the armed men, dressed in military camouflage and turbans, arrived in the community on about 30 motorcycles at around 3 p.m.

This newspaper spoke with five residents of Zugurma, whose identities have been withheld for security reasons.

Although the group’s identity has not been independently verified, local residents and security analysts believe the terrorists are members of Lakurawa, an armed group whose affiliations to global jihadist networks remain contested.

While some researchers trace the group’s links to al-Qaeda-aligned networks, others have documented ties to the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), formerly known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).

However, PREMIUM TIMES understands that at least four jihadist groups currently operate in and around the Kainji forest reserve. Based on witness accounts and photographs reviewed by this newspaper, the attire of the fighters who entered Zugurma most closely resembles that commonly associated with two groups active in the area: Lakurawa and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the al-Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel that claimed its first attack in Nigeria last year.

One resident, who was returning from a trip when the fighters arrived, said he first encountered them near a bridge connecting the Hayin Kambari and Hayin Hausawa areas of the community.

“I wanted to film them, but I couldn’t because I was on a motorcycle,” he said.

According to him, the fighters split into two groups.

“While one group positioned itself around the bridge, the other moved into the main town,” he said.

The sermon in Zugurma

A community leader said many residents initially fled upon sighting the armed men but later returned after being told not to run.

“They said they only came to preach to people and nothing more,” the leader said, noting that he was not at the gathering.

Residents who attended the sermon said it took place in a small mosque on Mallam Dugu Street in Hayin Kambari.

“They arrived in our area on 14 motorcycles, with two men on each bike, except for one motorcycle that carried a single person and a machine gun,” a grocer whose shop is located on the street told PREMIUM TIMES..

“Only one of them entered the mosque,” he added. “The others stayed outside with us.”

According to residents, the preacher spoke about unbelief, smoking, theft and the long-running farmers-herders conflict. He accused some Fulani herders of trespassing onto farmlands and destroying crops.

“He said they would intervene whenever herders damaged farmers’ crops,” the grocer said.

The preacher also issued threats against criminal offenders.

“He threatened that their group would punish or kill thieves,” the grocer said. “He also said those caught smoking would be flogged.”

Residents said the sermon lasted for nearly 40 minutes and was met with applause from some members of the audience.

A dangerous tactic

Security analysts say extremist groups across North-western and North-central Nigeria have increasingly combined armed presence with religious outreach and community engagement as part of efforts to expand their influence.

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PREMIUM TIMES had documented how in several rural communities, such groups have preached radical interpretations of Islam, offered protection against bandits and gradually recruited locals as informants, logistics suppliers, labourers and, in some cases, fighters.

Analysts believe that weak governance in local communities and uneven economic opportunities have aided the terrorists’ recruitment drive.

Recent reports from Soba, Kulho and other villages near the Ibbi forest—an extension of the Kainji forest reserve—suggest a similar pattern.

Residents in those communities told our reporter that armed groups are infiltrating villages, preaching to locals and imposing taxes on herders.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Niger State government nor security agencies had issued an official statement on the incident.

Independent verification of the group’s identity and a detailed assessment of the sermon delivered in Zugurma were still ongoing.

Residents and local stakeholders have called for a swift investigation and urged security authorities to strengthen surveillance and response measures in vulnerable communities around the Kainji forest corridor.