Insurgency: Senate Seeks Tougher Military Actions against Lakurawa in Sokoto, Kebbi

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate, yesterday, lamented the invasion of Sokoto and Kebbi states by Lakurawa terrorists and urged tougher military actions against the invaders.
The senator for Kebbi North, Yahaya Abdullahi, drew the attention of his colleagues to Lukarawa’s insurgents’ invasion of some communities in Sokoto and Kebbi states.
Abdullahi’s motion was titled, “Urgent Need for the Federal Government to take Stringent Measures to Stop the Infiltration of violent terrorists known as Lakurawa from Entrenching themselves in some North Western parts of Sokoto and Kebbi States.”
He said the terrorists were allegedly entering Nigeria from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali.
The senator specifically informed the senate that the Lakurawa terrorists infiltrated the country through the Nigeria-Niger border, at Illela, Tangaza and Silame local government areas of Sokoto. He said from those crossings, the terrorists attacked communities in Augie and Arewa local government areas of Kebbi State.
He said the terrorists had raided and dispossessed the communities prior to the large-scale invasion of Mera, a village in Augie Local Government Area on November 8, which resulted in the killing of more than 20 people and stealing of livestock estimated at hundreds of millions of naira.
Abdullahi said he, along with Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) and Senator Garba Musa Maidoki (Kebbi South) and some members of the House of Representatives, from Kebbi State, had been to the affected arears to commiserate with victims of the attacks on behalf of the National Assembly.
All the senators, who spoke on the motion, commended the prompt action taken by the military to curtail the spread of violent attacks by the insurgents.
Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, in his contribution, said, “I stand in solidarity with the people of Kebbi State because this is a new dimension to the problem of insecurity in that area.
“It is sad that while our security agencies are working very hard to deal with the current situation that we have or the situation that was there before, these people came into Kebbi State.”
The senate directed the military to work with the communities and other security agencies, to set up early warning mechanisms to forestall further incursions.