₦airaland Forum

Suspected Lakurawa bandits on Wednesday attacked the Maganho community in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State, killing five persons.

An[b] official of the local government confirmed the incident, saying the attackers also rustled a large number of livestock belonging to residents, most of whom are farmers.
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According to the official, “The bandits stormed the community at about 1 pm, riding motorcycles and firing sporadically, resulting in the killing of the victims and the injury of others.

“This attack is not the first time they have come here to attack our people.

“Our local government has now become a target of the Lakurawa bandits and other terrorist activities, making daily life difficult for residents.”

Residents who spoke on the incident called for the urgent deployment of additional security personnel to strengthen existing security measures in the area.

They offered prayers for the repose of the victims and asked that Allah grant their families the fortitude to bear the loss.

The victims were reportedly buried in accordance with Islamic rites.

Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmed Rufai, were unsuccessful as his contact was unavailable at the time of filing this report.


However, a senior police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed the attack, adding that an investigation had commenced.

Lakurawa bandits have emerged as one of the most persistent armed groups operating across parts of Sokoto State, particularly in border communities linking Nigeria with the Niger Republic.

Their activities are concentrated mainly in Tangaza, Gudu, Illela, Sabon Birni and parts of Binji local government areas.

The group is known for launching coordinated attacks on rural communities, typically arriving on motorcycles and targeting villages with limited security presence.

Residents and local authorities have blamed the bandits for killings, mass abductions, cattle rustling, arson and the imposition of illegal levies on farming communities.


In December 2025, the security situation drew international attention after the United States Africa Command carried out airstrikes on terrorist camps in Sokoto State.

The strikes, which were conducted on Christmas Day in coordination with Nigerian authorities, were aimed at disrupting armed groups operating in the North-West, including factions linked to cross-border banditry and terrorism.

Despite repeated military offensives by Nigerian security forces and the US-backed airstrikes, attacks on communities in parts of Sokoto State have, however, persisted.

Nigerians are experiencing a significant drop in electricity nationwide, which is expected to last for three days, from February 12 to 15, 2026.
This comes as Seplat, a joint venture with Nigerian National Petroleum Company Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), commenced a scheduled routine maintenance exercise on its gas production facilities from February 12 to February 15, 2026.

The exercise affected electricity supply from the country’s national grid.

Reacting to the development, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) said the maintenance has negatively impacted power stations to be affected, including Egbin, Azura, Sapele, and Transcorp Power Plants, as well as NDPHC Sapele, Olorunsogo, and Omotosho Power Plants.

“Full gas supply is expected to be restored on 16 February 2026,” NISO stated.

Already electricity distribution companies have noticed Nigerians’ drop in electricity supply.

Enugu Electricity Distribution Company in a notice on Thursday informed electricity customers within Enugu, Anambra, and Ebonyi states of load management.

“Consequently, customers served by the subsidiary companies of EEDC

(MainPower, FirstPower, and Eastland) in Enugu, Anambra, and Ebonyi States, respectively, are affected by this development,” EEDC said in a notice by its spokesperson, Emeka Ezeh.

Terrorists Storm Oba Community In Kwara, Kill One, Kidnap Another As Schools Hurriedly Shut

Terrorists suspected to be bandits have stormed the Ọba community along Correctional Centre Road in the Isanlu-Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State, following a deadly attack that left one person dead and another abducted.

SaharaReporters gathered that the latest incident occurred on Tuesday evening, throwing residents of Isanlu-Isin and neighbouring communities into fear and confusion.

Confirming the development on Wednesday night, the Coordinator of the Joint Security Watch for Kwara South Senatorial District, Elder Oyin Zubair, disclosed that the attack came barely hours after four kidnapped victims regained their freedom in the same axis.

Elder Zubair explained that the four victims had earlier been abducted along the Omu-Aran–Isanlu-Isin Road near the Correctional Centre on January 5, 2026, before they were released on Wednesday afternoon.

“Four people kidnapped along Omu-Aran Isanlu-Isin Road near the Correctional Centre on January 5, 2026, regained their freedom this afternoon,” he said.

According to him, the freed victims are currently are receiving medical attention.

“The released individuals are receiving treatments in various hospitals in Ilorin and Omu-Aran respectively,” Zubair added.

However, he lamented that peace was short-lived, as bandits struck again on Tuesday evening along the same Correctional Centre Road.

“But in another twist of events, one person was killed and another one kidnapped yesterday evening on the Correctional Centre Road,” he revealed.

The latest killing and abduction have heightened tension across the area, with residents now living in constant fear of further attacks.

Zubair noted that the growing insecurity has disrupted daily activities, including education, as parents and school authorities take precautionary measures.

“Residents of Isanlu-Isin and their neighbours are in a panicking mood as a result of which some schools have closed down,” he said.

As of the time of filing this report, there was no official statement from the Kwara State Police Command on the killing and the fresh abduction.

The Aso Rock Presidential Villa is expected to fully disconnect from the national electricity grid by March 2026 following the completion of its solar power project, the State House Permanent Secretary, Temitope Fashedemi, has disclosed.

Fashedemi made the revelation on Wednesday while defending the State House 2026 budget before the Senate Committee on Special Duties at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.

This is according to details of the proceedings transmitted to State House correspondents by the Presidency on Wednesday evening.

He told the committee, chaired by Senator Kaka Lawan (Borno Central), that the solar installation was completed towards the end of 2025 and had been undergoing testing since December.


“We are hopeful that maybe by March we’ll be able to do a full cutover,” Fashedemi said, adding that the transition would deliver significant cost savings for the government.

The Permanent Secretary cited the State House Medical Centre as proof of the project’s viability.

The facility, he argued, completed its own solar installation in May 2025 and has since operated entirely without generator power.

He stated, “I have to say that since that time, the generator in that State House Medical Centre has not been put on for one minute since May last year.

“Only a couple of months, we used three per cent from AEDC (Abuja Electricity Distribution Company), so the rest has been strictly from the solar and from the battery electric storage system.”

The Federal Government budgeted N10bn for the “Solarisation of the Villa with Solar Mini Grid” project in 2025.

The move that sparked widespread criticism from Nigerians who argued that the decision to install solar panels at Aso Rock amounted to an admission that the Tinubu administration could not fix Nigeria’s epileptic power supply.

The 2026 Appropriation Bill contains an additional N7bn allocation for the project.

However, the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Mustapha Abdullahi, defended the project in April 2025, describing it as unsustainable for the Villa to continue paying an estimated N47bn annual electricity bill.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had also cited the White House’s use of solar energy as justification for the initiative.


Before the solar transition, the State House had accumulated electricity debts nearing N1bn.

In February 2024, AEDC listed the Presidential Villa among the top government debtors with an outstanding bill of N923.87m.

The Department of State Service, Kwara State command, has issued a security alert to the Kwara State Police Command, warning of a possible attack on the Gbabe community in Baruten Local Government Area.

The alert comes days after a deadly assault on the Woro community in Kaiama LGA, which left scores of residents dead.

A of the letter, signed by the State Director of DSS in Kwara, J.S. Adams, and dated February 5, 2026, was addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Command Headquarters, Ilorin, amid rising insecurity across the Kwara North axis.

The letter, referenced S.122/1/1897 and titled Threat of Attack on Gbabe, Baruten LGA, warned of the movement and build-up of armed men suspected to be Mamuda elements around Kiyoru Settlement in Gwanara District.

“Report indicates possible threat of attack by armed group, on Gbabe Community, Gwanara District, Baruten Local Government Area (LGA), Kwara State. This stemmed from the build-up of armed men suspected to be Mamuda elements around Kiyoru Settlement, even as the villagers have expressed hostility towards the elements,” the letter read.

It further highlighted the history of violent activities by armed groups operating around Kainji Lake National Park and stressed the need for heightened vigilance in communities within the corridor.

“In view of the antecedents of armed groups around Kainji Lake National Park, there is a need to emplace necessary security measures to forestall any untoward development,” the DSS added.

The letter urged the police to treat the intelligence with urgency and take appropriate measures to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

“Respectfully forwarded for your attention and necessary action, please,” it concluded.

The alert has heightened concerns among residents and local leaders, coming days after the Woro attack, where armed men reportedly killed scores and forced survivors to flee. Eyewitnesses indicated that the attackers operated from forested areas spanning Kaiama and Baruten LGAs and extending towards the Benin Republic, a route security agencies have repeatedly identified as vulnerable.

As of the time of filing, security deployments had been reinforced in parts of Kaiama following the Woro incident, while residents of Baruten LGA expressed anxiety over the threat outlined in the DSS letter.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq also convened an emergency security council meeting with heads of security agencies on Monday night at Ahmadu Bello House, Ilorin.

The governor said the meeting aimed to review the security situation and strengthen coordinated efforts to neutralise emerging threats.

“As part of our multi-layered response to the recent terrorist attack in Kaiama LGA, I summoned an emergency security council meeting at the Ahmadu Bello House in Ilorin today,” AbdulRazaq said.

The governor received briefings from all the security commanders in the state and discussed strategies to neutralise all threats to citizens and secure lives and property.

Earlier, Governor Usman Ododo (Kogi) and Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti) had accompanied AbdulRazaq to visit victims of the Woro attack receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ilorin.

“We stand in solidarity with the people of Kwara State over this unfortunate incident.

“We also commend the Federal Government and security agencies for the swift response. The victims are stable but remain under close watch in the intensive care unit,” Oyebanji said.

The Yoruba socio-cultural group, the Oodua People’s Congress, has urged governors of the South-West zone, Kwara, Kogi and other states described as “Yoruba-speaking” to immediately declare a state of emergency over escalating insecurity.

The OPC made the call in a statement issued by the Chairman of Dr. Frederick Fasehun’s OPC Caretaker Committee, Kazeem Lawal, on Tuesday.

The statement followed the recent killing of over 100 persons in Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The OPC described the killings as heartbreaking and provocative, insisting that the jihadist terrorists who committed the crime must be hunted down and shot on the spot by security agents.

Lawal cautioned governors of the South-West and other states with Yoruba-speaking indigenes against politicising the prevailing insecurity, urging them instead to collaborate in proffering and procuring rapid solutions.

“Governors of the 10 Yoruba-speaking states must immediately declare a state of emergency on security to reflect the gravity of the situation. With these rampaging terrorists, bandits and jihadists and their activities, all Nigerians face an existential threat, and all hands must be mobilised to identify, locate and neutralise these evil monsters,” Lawal said.

The organisation urged the Federal Government, the Kwara State Government and security agencies to declare a massive manhunt to locate and apprehend the killers.

“Those who committed this dastardly act are not spirits. All available resources must be mobilised to hunt down, arrest, prosecute and annihilate these killers,” Lawal said.

Lawal said the only way to redress last week’s killings in Kwara communities was through the apprehension, prosecution and execution of those responsible.

“Such cold-blooded killers do not deserve a second chance. They should be shot on sight to give them a dose of their own medicine and serve as a deterrent to others planning to follow in their evil footsteps. These killers have committed a wicked crime against God and humanity and must be made to suffer supreme punishment,” he said.

Declaring its readiness to defend Yoruba land and people, the OPC warned that it would not allow terrorists to fester and overwhelm the South-West as they have, according to it, done in the North.

“We shall not cede the land of our birth to Fulani herdsmen and Islamist jihadists,” Lawal said. “We will defend ourselves and will not fold our hands while foreigners invade our lands, kidnapping, raping, pillaging and killing at will.

“Whatever criminalities bandits, jihadists and terrorists have perpetrated in the North should remain in the North, because we Yoruba people will not tolerate such in our homelands.

“Nigerians wonder why the authorities continue to pamper these hoodlums. Why are agencies not arresting anyone found roaming with AK-47 assault rifles? Instead, the security agencies that are supposed to defend the lives and assets of our people choose to go after those who muster the courage to defend themselves.

“We will not seek or wait for permission from anyone to defend ourselves with everything at our disposal. As we have done in the past, the OPC shall do everything to defend our land and people.”

The group urged the Nigeria Police, other security agencies and the Armed Forces to be proactive rather than reactionary in tackling non-state actors troubling the country.

According to the OPC, the heightened insecurity appeared to be a ploy deliberately targeted at undermining the government of President Bola Tinubu.