Islamist militants killed at least 34 people in coordinated attacks on several villages in north-western Nigeria, local officials said on Wednesday.
The assaults took place on Tuesday in a remote border district of Kebbi state, where gunmen struck multiple communities simultaneously, overwhelming poorly armed local vigilante groups and forcing residents to flee.
Survivors described the attackers as highly organised, saying they moved through villages firing indiscriminately at civilians. Entire communities were left deserted as residents escaped into surrounding areas.
Officials blamed the attacks on Lakurawa, a relatively new Islamist insurgent group operating along the Nigeria–Niger border. The group was targeted by U.S. air strikes in December in neighbouring Sokoto state, further north.
Security forces have since been deployed to the affected areas to protect civilians and assist survivors, while tracking operations are under way to block the militants’ escape routes.
Authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the attacks, but images circulating on social media show bodies wrapped in burial shrouds, suggesting a significant civilian toll.
The violence has triggered outrage on Nigerian social media, with many users accusing the government of failing to curb growing insecurity in the north-west.
Lakurawa was officially designated a terrorist organisation last year and banned nationwide after reports emerged that its fighters were enforcing strict social codes, including flogging residents for listening to music.
Officials say the group has links to jihadist factions in Mali and Niger. Its fighters have reportedly embedded themselves in border communities for years, marrying locally and recruiting young men.
The latest attacks underscore Nigeria’s widening security crisis, as authorities continue to confront multiple armed threats, including Boko Haram insurgents in the north-east, kidnapping gangs across the north-west and central regions, and separatist violence in the south-east.