Lakurawa fighters invade Sokoto town, kill four soldiers

At least four soldiers were feared killed when suspected Lakurawa fighters invaded Kebbe town in Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State on Friday.

The attackers, reportedly numbering more than 300 and riding motorcycles, engaged troops in a gun battle before moving into parts of the town, where they allegedly attacked shops, a hospital and vehicles.

The militants reportedly stormed Kebbe around 10am, prompting soldiers stationed at a military base on the outskirts of the town to engage them.

A Sokoto-based security expert, Bashar Altine, who confirmed the attack, said four soldiers were feared killed during the exchange of fire.

The reported casualty figure, however, could not be independently verified.

The spokesperson for the Sokoto State Police Command, Ahmed Rufai, also confirmed the incident but said the command was still gathering information. He said he could not confirm reports of casualties, including the alleged deaths of the soldiers.

Efforts to obtain confirmation from the spokesperson for the Nigerian Army’s 8 Division, Lt. Col. Olaniyi Osoba, were unsuccessful as he had not responded to messages seeking clarification as of the time of filing this report.

Altine said that after engaging the troops, the attackers moved into the Sabon Gari area of Kebbe, where they allegedly broke into shops and stole large quantities of mobile phones and bread.

He said the militants also attacked a military vehicle equipped with a mounted rocket-propelled grenade, damaging three tyres and shattering its windscreen.

The attackers reportedly proceeded to the General Hospital, Kebbe, where they smashed the windows of vehicles parked within the premises, including an ambulance and a vehicle belonging to the Divisional Police Officer.

“They also seized mobile phones belonging to patients at the hospital,” Altine said.

He added that the attackers allegedly took four motorcycles belonging to residents before withdrawing from the town later in the evening through the direction of the police station.

According to Altine, the militants headed towards communities west of Kebbe and were subsequently reported to have entered Ungushi, a district in the local government area.

Despite the reported gun battle with troops, there was no confirmed information that any of the attackers was killed.

“As of the time of writing this report, we have not seen the body of even one Lakurawa fighter that the soldiers succeeded in killing,” Altine said.

The incident comes amid continuing security concerns in parts of Sokoto State, where armed groups have carried out attacks and raids on communities.