What began as another quiet Sunday in Morai, a farming community in Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State, quickly turned into a scene of horror and mourning as suspected terrorists from the notorious Lakurawa group stormed the village in a brazen daylight attack.
Thirteen members of a local vigilante group were killed in the confrontation, sparking renewed fears about the rising power and brutality of rural insurgents in northwestern Nigeria.
According to locals, the attackers targeted the community’s livestock, rustling dozens of cattle and shooting at anyone who resisted. The vigilantes, made up of local farmers and hunters who had taken up arms to defend their community in the absence of adequate security, responded to the incursion. But the outcome was devastating.
“They walked right into an ambush,” said Malam Ibrahim Augie, a respected local elder who spoke to our correspondent. “The terrorists had already encircled them before they even launched their counterattack. They were completely outmaneuvered.”
A Fight for Survival Ends in Tragedy
As word spread that armed men had entered the village, dozens of vigilantes quickly mobilized, determined to push back and reclaim the stolen cattle. For many, this was not their first confrontation with the Lakurawa, a shadowy criminal group accused of a series of attacks across Kebbi and neighboring states. But this time, the enemy had the upper hand.
The vigilantes had planned to ambush the terrorists, lying in wait along paths where they expected the rustlers to retreat with the cattle. However, unknown to them, the Lakurawa had scouts of their own—and the defenders’ position had been compromised.
“The vigilantes hid in the bush, waiting to strike and get the cattle back,” said Malam Ibrahim. “But they didn’t know they had already been spotted. They were attacked from behind and shot before they could react.”
By the time the shooting stopped, thirteen local defenders were dead. Several others were injured or unaccounted for. The attackers, heavily armed and organized, fled with the stolen livestock before any reinforcements could arrive.
A Community in Mourning
In Morai, grief hangs heavy in the air. The deceased vigilantes were sons, brothers, and fathers—ordinary men who volunteered to defend their people when no one else would. Many were buried just hours after the attack, in keeping with Islamic tradition, their graves freshly dug in the dusty earth behind the village mosque.
The families left behind are devastated. Zainab Musa, whose husband was among the slain, sobbed as she clutched her infant daughter outside their home.
“He said he would be back before evening. He promised to bring back the cattle. Now I don’t even have him,” she said, her voice shaking.
Escalating Rural Insecurity
The attack underscores the growing insecurity gripping rural parts of northwestern Nigeria, where armed groups—commonly referred to as bandits or terrorists—have established themselves in forest enclaves, launching raids on villages, highways, and markets with impunity.
While military and police efforts have been intensified in recent months, locals say the response is not nearly enough—and often comes too late.
Efforts to reach the Kebbi State Police Command for comment were unsuccessful as of press time. Calls to the command’s spokesman, CSP Nafiu Abubakar, went unanswered, and no official statement had been issued.
Without timely intervention from security agencies, communities like Morai are forced to rely on vigilante groups for protection. But Sunday’s tragedy highlights the limits—and risks—of self-defense in the face of highly coordinated criminal elements.
Residents of Morai are now pleading with the government to step in before more lives are lost. Many fear that the Lakurawa group, emboldened by their success, will return.
“How many more have to die before they take us seriously?” asked Malam Shehu Adamu, another community leader. “We’re not safe. Our children aren’t safe. And we are tired of burying our own.”
Across Kebbi State, and indeed much of the northwest, such stories are becoming alarmingly common. The lines between insurgency and organized crime have blurred, with cattle rustling, kidnapping, and village attacks merging into a deadly pattern of rural terror.
