A Former Director of DSS, Mike Ejiofor has expressed his concerns regarding the Lukarawa group, which has recently been labeled a new terrorist organization. He clarified that the Lukarawa group is not a new entity and that it was originally formed as a jihadist group by a former Nigerien leader, General Ibrahim Mainassara.
He emphasized that after Mainassara’s death, the Nigerian government failed to address the development of the group and it exposure to the Northern region. He highlighted that a district head in Sokoto State later invited the new leader of the Lukarawa group and his followers to assist in combating issues like cattle rustling and banditry, believing they would contribute positively. He argued that while they initially came with good intentions, they also harbored ulterior motives that pose a threat to national security.
He said in an interview with Channels TV from 4:06, ‘When I heard that the Lukarawa group is a new terrorist group, I was taken aback because this group is not new in the terrain. The Lukarawa was formed by a Former Nigerien Leader Mainassara as a jihadist group. But after his death, the Nigerian government didn’t take care of them. So, they now scattered, and one of the district heads in Sokoto State invited the new leader of the Lukarawa group and his followers to help them, you know, in preventing cattle rustling and all these bandits. They came with good intentions, not knowing that they also have some other inimical intentions to national security. Later on, they started operating there and imposing taxes, but they’re not Nigerians. They all came from Niger, Mali, and other neighboring countries.”