Suspected Lakurawa terrorists have killed at least 13 vigilante members in Morai, a village in the Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
The attack reportedly occurred on Sunday after the vigilantes received an intelligence report about a potential raid and took positions in the bush to ambush the assailants.
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However, the vigilante-planned ambush failed, a resident, Alhaji Augie, told Channels TV.
“Unfortunately, they didn’t realise the terrorists had already encircled them,” Mr Augie said.
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“As the vigilantes moved to engage, the attackers opened fire, killing at least 13 of them instantly. The village where it happened is only about three kilometres from ours,” Mr Augie added.
He said the attackers had wanted to rustle cattle in the area..
The phone contact of the state police spokesperson, Nafiu Abubakar, didn’t connect Monday morning, so the officer could not comment on the development.
Lakurawa is a terror group that infiltrated Sokoto and Kebbi States through Niger Republic, exacerbating insecurity in the North-west region.
The senator for Kebbi Central District, Adamu Aliero, last November, said members of the Lakurawa terror group are moving about in the state with sophisticated weapons unchallenged.
Mr Aliero, who served as governor of Kebbi for eight years, said the terror group members migrated from Mali.
“This Lakurawa movement is a terrorist movement. They came from Mali, and they controlled the whole of Northern Mali, and they made that part of the country ungovernable.
“Recently, the government of Mali, with the assistance of foreign countries, was able to dislodge quite a number of them, and they started spreading to other parts of the country, including Nigeria,” he said at a Senate plenary last year, calling for action against them.
