Utweets
Residents and officials of government in Sokoto State have cried out over the presence of members of the Lakurawa sect in the state, saying they are making life unbearable for them. This is just as the military yesterday confirmed the presence of members of the group in communities in Sokoto and Kebbi states. The military said the development was exacerbating the security challenges in the North West. ...READ THE FULL STORY FROM SOURCE ↔️
A resident of Sokoto, Malam Muhammadu Bauni, said although they (Lakurawa) claimed they were protecting their communities against banditry, they were making life difficult for the locals because they were imposing some laws they were not conversant with.
“They claim they are protecting us against bandits and at the same time imposing certain religious laws on our communities. Recently, they beat some of our youths for shaving their beards. The same treatment is meted to those with hairstyles or who listen to music.
“We are all Muslims; we are not against Shari’ah law, but there can’t be a government within a government.
“And the way they are imposing the law is unacceptable because there is no Shari’ah law that stipulates severe punishment for shaving beards or listening to music.
“The worst part of it is that they have been indoctrinating the locals, but they are not killing or kidnapping our people for ransom.
“They are only after government agents. In the last six days, they came and abducted a health personnel working in our primary health centre and nothing has been heard about him since then. Most of the high profile attacks on security operatives in those areas are being carried out by them.
“If they see a new face in our community they would take him to their camp and interrogate him; and if they find out that he is a government official, that is the end of him. If he is not, they would bring him back. It is the same thing for our locals – any person who stays away for some days, they will pick him up upon return and interrogate him before discharging him. This is how we are living”, he said.
According to him, the matter had been reported to the appropriate authorities, but nothing had been done about it.
“There was a time soldiers raided our community and killed two of them, but they haven’t come back since then. And we can’t fight them because they are in large numbers and have sophisticated weapons,” he added.
Another local told the BBC Hausa Service that the group is heavily armed and often communicates with locals in multiple languages, including Hausa, Fulani, Tuareg, Kanuri, Tuba and English.
He added that after their preaching sessions, they translate their messages into these languages to ensure that all members of the local communities understand their doctrines.
“They arrive in large numbers, often coming on 10 to 15 motorcycles, and leave some members behind as they move to other towns,” he added.
The group also collects religious taxes, known as zakat. According to the source, if individuals refuse to pay, the group confiscates their animals, only returning them after the payment is made.
Another resident confirmed to the BBC that out of the five local government areas where they abound in Sokoto State, the group has significant influence in two of them.
“In Gudu Local Government, for example, they have presence everywhere, even outside the local government headquarters. There is no place where they do not move about freely,” he said.
They’re luring our youths with N1m – Sokoto LG chair
The Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area, Alhaji Isa Salihu Kalenjeni, had a few days ago alleged that members of the group were offering their youths the sum of N1 million each to join their campaign against the government.
Speaking to Daily Trust on phone, Kalenjeni said members of the group had been preaching and imposing Shari’ah law in the villages.
He said: “They are forcing people to pay zakat, and at the same time robbing them of their belongings. Just recently, they robbed a shop owner of N2 million. They also seized his car and released it after he paid N350,000.”
Sokoto govt reacts
Speaking on the development, the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Idris Gobir, said the group is known to be faith-based.
He said this while receiving participants of Course 33 of the National Defence College, Abuja, who were on a study tour in the state. Gobir said an assessment carried out indicated that the group possessed sophisticated weapons and their criminal activities were observed in five local government areas in the state. The deputy governor, however, said as the threat was growing, security agents were working assiduously to address it..…READ THE FULL STORY FROM SOURCE ↔️
