A police inspector and 11 residents are dead after suspected members of the Lakurawa and Mamudawa terror groups launched a series of attacks on communities in Kebbi State. The violence struck the riverine villages of Karwa, Kestu, and Waiwayi, located in the Besse/Shanga area, leaving families with little choice but to abandon their homes.
The attacks have triggered a mass displacement, with residents fleeing all three communities in the wake of the violence. For people already living in remote, riverine terrain, that kind of sudden uprooting carries its own quiet devastation, lost harvests, disrupted livelihoods, and the very real fear of what comes next.
The Lakurawa and Mamudawa groups have been a growing security concern in Nigeria's northwest, and this latest wave of attacks is a sharp reminder that rural and riverine communities in the region remain dangerously exposed. The question now is how quickly federal and state authorities can respond, and whether residents will ever feel safe enough to return home.
Originally published by AllAfrica.