A recent study has confirmed the presence of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the ISIS affiliate in Nigeria, in Sokoto, amid questions over the scope and geographic focus of US air strikes targeting the group early Friday.
ISWAP primarily operates in the north-east and Lake Chad Basin. But Sokoto, where the US launched a fusillade of air strikes on ISIS terrorists, is located in the north-west.
The study said Lakurawa, a local Hausa term for militants from neighbouring Sahel states, had been making incursions into communities in Sokoto state near the Nigerien border since late 2017.
The group gained notoriety after carrying out a series of brutal attacks on some communities in the region late last year.
Reports often describe Lakurawa as a distinct terrorist cell operating in the area.
However, a study authored by James Barnett and Umar Musa, published by the Combating Terrorism Centre (CTC), found that original members of the Lakurawa sect may have been affiliated with Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the Sahel) in 2017-2018 but are now linked with the Islamic State’s Sahel Province (ISSP).
The study, “Kachallas and Kinship: Understanding Jihadi Expansion and Diffusion in Nigeria”, was carried out to provide a detailed assessment of the extent to which different Nigerian and Sahelian jihadi groups have either expanded into or relocated within different parts of the country over the past five years.
According to the study, there is evidence that ISSP militants operate in Sokoto and parts of northern Kebbi states under the guise of the Lakurawa.
The study also noted that Nigeria’s most destructive bandit gangs largely originate from and operate in Muslim-majority areas in the north-western states of Zamfara, Sokoto, and Katsina, as well as parts of Kaduna, Niger, and Kebbi.
“Consequently, Muslim civilians constitute a sizable portion, if not the clear majority, of both the perpetrators and victims of banditry in the northwest,” the study said.
The study added that JNIM may be using the same disguise tactic in Kebbi and Niger states, posing as Lakurawa.
Quoting United Nations (UN) experts, the research highlighted ISSP activity in Sokoto and Kebbi, as well as an ISWAP logistics hub in Sokoto.
The report said the hub is reportedly used to facilitate coordination between the two ISIS affiliates, ISSP and ISWAP.
It also noted that Lakurawa terrorists in Sokoto work hard to maintain operational security, never disclosing to local communities whether they belong to ISSP, JNIM, or any other faction.
“They do this because the confusion surrounding their identity benefits them,” the study added.
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) stated in a post on X that last night’s strike was at “the request of Nigerian authorities”.
Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson of Nigeria’s ministry of foreign affairs, confirmed the request to TheCable on Friday.
Ebienfa also said more strikes were expected given that “the terrorists continue to pose a threat to the nation’s security”.
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