Jihadists preach and threaten in Niger community near Kainji forest

Heavily armed jihadists rode into Zugurma, a community in Niger State by Kainji Lake National Park, on Sunday. They gathered residents and delivered a sermon with threats against thieves, smokers, and Fulani herders, according to locals.

Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that the armed men came on about 30 motorcycles around 3 p.m. They wore military camouflage and turbans.

This newspaper spoke with five residents, but their names are withheld for safety. While the group's identity is not confirmed, locals and security experts think the terrorists belong to Lakurawa. This armed group has unclear ties to larger jihadist networks.

Some researchers link them to al-Qaeda, while others note connections to the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), which was known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) before. PREMIUM TIMES found that at least four jihadist groups operate near the Kainji forest reserve.

Witness accounts and photos reviewed by this newspaper indicate that the clothing of the fighters in Zugurma resembles that of two groups: Lakurawa and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). JNIM is the al-Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel that attacked Nigeria for the first time last year.

One resident, who was coming back from a trip, first spotted the fighters near a bridge linking Hayin Kambari and Hayin Hausawa in the community. "I wanted to film them, but I couldn’t because I was on a motorcycle," he said.

The resident noted that the fighters split into two groups. "One group stayed by the bridge while the other moved into the main town," he said.

The sermon in Zugurma

A community leader mentioned that many people ran away when they saw the armed men but returned later after being told to stay put. "They said they only came to preach to people and nothing more," the leader stated, emphasizing that he did not attend the gathering.

Residents who went to the sermon said it took place in a small mosque on Mallam Dugu Street in Hayin Kambari. "They arrived on 14 motorcycles, with two men on each bike, except for one bike with a single person and a machine gun," a grocer with a shop on the street told PREMIUM TIMES.

"Only one of them entered the mosque," he added. "The others stayed outside with us." According to the locals, the preacher discussed unbelief, smoking, theft, and the ongoing farmers-herders conflict. He accused some Fulani herders of trespassing on farmlands and ruining crops.

"He said they would step in whenever herders damaged farmers’ crops," the grocer said. The preacher also threatened punishment for criminals. "He threatened that their group would punish or kill thieves," the grocer noted. "He also said those caught smoking would be flogged."

Residents mentioned that the sermon lasted nearly 40 minutes and some audience members applauded.

A dangerous tactic

Security analysts say extremist groups in North-western and North-central Nigeria have mixed their armed presence with religious outreach. This strategy helps them gain influence.

PREMIUM TIMES has reported how such groups have preached radical interpretations of Islam in rural areas. They offer protection against bandits and recruit locals as informants, laborers, or fighters.

Experts believe that weak governance and poor economic chances in local areas help these terrorists recruit. Recent reports from Soba, Kulho, and other villages near the Ibbi forest, part of the Kainji forest reserve, point to a similar trend.

Residents in those areas told our reporter that armed groups are entering villages, preaching to people, and taxing herders. As of now, neither the Niger State government nor security agencies had released a statement about the incident.

Verification of the group's identity and a thorough assessment of the sermon in Zugurma are still in progress. Residents and local leaders are calling for a quick investigation and urging security agencies to improve surveillance and response in vulnerable areas around the Kainji forest corridor.