A new terrorism study confirms ISWAP’s presence in Sokoto State, extending its operations beyond Nigeria’s North-East and Lake Chad Basin.
The study by James Barnett and Umar Musa, published by the Combating Terrorism Centre, found that Lakurawa militants in Sokoto are linked to the Islamic State’s Sahel Province, which has operational ties to ISWAP.
The finding gained attention after US air strikes early Friday hit ISIS-linked targets in Sokoto, far from ISWAP’s traditional strongholds.
The research suggests that ISWAP and its Sahel-based affiliates have embedded themselves in north-western communities under the guise of “Lakurawa,” a label for militants crossing into Nigeria from neighbouring Sahel states.
According to the research, Lakurawa militants have been active in the border communities of Sokoto State since late 2017 and gained notoriety after launching a series of deadly attacks on rural settlements late last year.
While Lakurawa has often been described in reports as a standalone militant group, the study indicates that the label is being used as cover by multiple jihadist factions seeking to mask their true affiliations.
The report, titled “Kachallas and Kinship: Understanding Jihadi Expansion and Diffusion in Nigeria,” examines how Nigerian and Sahelian jihadist groups have expanded or relocated across different regions over the past five years.
It notes that early members of the Lakurawa sect may have been aligned with Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), al-Qa`ida’s Sahel affiliate, between 2017 and 2018, before shifting allegiance to ISSP.
The study also found that ISSP militants operate not only in Sokoto but also in parts of northern Kebbi State, using Lakurawa as a façade. UN experts cited in the report further identified an ISWAP logistics hub in Sokoto, reportedly used to coordinate activities between ISSP and ISWAP.
The findings suggest a deeper and more complex jihadist network in Nigeria’s north-west than previously acknowledged, with ISIS-linked groups exploiting local identities to evade detection and enforcement.
By deliberately obscuring whether they belong to ISWAP, ISSP, or JNIM, Lakurawa militants benefit from confusion among local communities and security agencies, strengthening their operational security.
“They do this because the confusion surrounding their identity benefits them,” the study added.
The research notes that many violent bandit groups operate in Muslim-majority states—Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, and parts of Kaduna, Niger, and Kebbi—making Muslim civilians a major share of both perpetrators and victims.
Together, these dynamics underscore growing security risks in north-west Nigeria and raise fresh questions about the evolving geographic reach of ISIS affiliates in the country.
According to his Truth Social post, US President Trump said the strike was executed as only the United States is capable of doing, and vowed the country would not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper.
This latest strike follows repeated warnings from President Trump over alleged religiously motivated violence in Nigeria.
This latest strike follows repeated warnings from President Trump over alleged religiously motivated violence in Nigeria.
In November, Trump publicly threatened military intervention and directed the U.S. Department of Defense to prepare for potential action in Nigeria.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar disclosed that Nigeria approved and provided intelligence support for the Christmas Day airstrikes carried out by the United States military on terrorist targets in Sokoto State.
His comments follow confirmation by United States President Donald Trump that he authorised a powerful and deadly strike against an ISIS terrorist base in north-west Nigeria.