According to security analyst Bulama Bukarti, the Lakurawa terror cell that is wreaking havoc in Sokoto and Kebbi states right now is not a recent development.

According to Bukarti, the group has been in the nation for almost six years and typically travels from the Niger Republic.

Recently, the Defense Headquarters issued a warning over the rise of a new terrorist organization in northwest Nigeria known as Lakurawa.

The organization has reportedly carried out lethal attacks in various areas of the region, murdering innocent bystanders.

In an interview with Channels TV on Monday, Bukarti discussed the issue and claimed that the gang has been “camping or living sporadically in the northwestern part of Nigeria for more than six years now.”

They did not remain in Nigeria permanently, but they did begin breaking in illegally in 2016 or 2017.

“What they do—and they still do that today—is that they come to Niger [Republic], stay for a few months, and then return to the Sahel or wherever they are coming from.”

He asserted that the Department of State Services, or DSS, in particular, was aware of the group’s existence.