Kebbi, Nigeria – Suspected members of the Lakurawa extremist group attacked a mosque in northwestern Nigeria on Wednesday, killing five worshippers and injuring three others during evening Islamic prayers. The assault occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. West Africa Time (WAT) in the Dadin Kowa community of Kebbi State’s Maiyama Local Government Area.
Okay News reports that the fatal incident is believed to be a reprisal attack following recent military operations against the militant group. According to local residents, the insurgents retaliated after security forces successfully repelled an ambush targeting Major General Bemgha Koughna, a regional military commander. That earlier confrontation resulted in significant casualties for the insurgents and the loss of their weapons and logistical supplies.
Bashir Usman, the police spokesperson for Kebbi State, confirmed the casualty figures, noting that the survivors are currently receiving treatment at a local hospital. “The assailants fled into the bush before the arrival of security operatives,” Usman said in a public statement. He added that a combined force of police officers, military personnel, and local vigilante groups had been immediately deployed to the area to restore calm and maintain public order.
The mosque shooting marks a continued escalation of violence in the region, coming just one week after the Lakurawa group allegedly killed 34 people in another part of Kebbi State. The extremist sect, which authorities have linked to wider Sahelian terror networks operating in neighboring Niger and Mali, has increasingly targeted civilian and religious centers, exacerbating the broader security crisis across northwestern Nigeria.
