Nigerian troops overran a Lakurawa enclave in Sokoto State on Thursday, killing several fighters, destroying their camps and seizing weapons and five motorcycles, the military said.
The clearance operation took place in Waria Forest, in the Tangaza local government area, according to a statement from Joint Task Force North West, known as Operation Fansan Yamma. Troops from Sector 2 moved through suspected hideouts around the villages of Alela, Bilange and Kandam before pushing into the forest, where they met the armed group.
Lt. Col. Aliyu Danja, the task force’s media information officer, said a gun battle followed and troops overwhelmed the fighters with superior firepower, forcing them to abandon their positions and flee deeper into the forest. Soldiers pursued them and killed several, he said. A search of the area then led to the destruction of the camps and structures the group used to sustain itself.
The military did not say how many fighters were killed, and the account could not be independently verified. The statement did not mention any casualties among troops.
Danja said troops have kept a strong presence in the area and are continuing clearance operations to deny the group freedom of movement and improve security in nearby communities. He urged residents to give timely and credible information about suspicious movements to security agencies.
Lakurawa is an armed group that Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters identified in late 2024 as a new threat in the northwest. Military officials said it emerged from the Niger and Mali axis and began moving into northern Sokoto and Kebbi states after the coup in Niger broke down military cooperation between Nigeria and Niger. News reports describe it as linked to jihadist networks in the Sahel and say it established a foothold in the two states as early as 2018.
The group has stayed active despite sustained pressure. In December 2025, the United States carried out missile strikes on Lakurawa camps in Tangaza in coordination with Nigerian authorities, and reports said many fighters fled afterward. In September, the task force reported rescuing 23 kidnapped victims, foiling several attacks and arresting four suspected Lakurawa members in Sokoto.
Troops have also taken losses. Seven soldiers were killed in an ambush by suspected Lakurawa fighters near the Niger border as they returned from a raid on a camp outside Illela, local sources said. A military spokesman confirmed casualties but declined to give a toll.
In August, the commander of the Army’s 8 Division, Maj. Gen. Bemgha Paul Koughna, visited a forward operating base in Kebbe, also in Sokoto, and pledged that troops would not let armed groups use Kebbe and nearby communities as a safe corridor along the Sokoto-Kebbi border.
