 is demanding an immediate and total overhaul of the state’s security architecture following a devastating attack by suspected Lakurawa bandits){kind=link}
The Kebbi Development Forum (KDF) is demanding an immediate and total overhaul of the state’s security architecture following a devastating attack by suspected Lakurawa bandits that left at least 33 people dead across eight communities in Arewa Local Government Area.
Residents described a scene of absolute terror as the invaders stormed the border communities, reportedly focusing on mass cattle rustling during what has become one of the deadliest single assaults the region has seen in months.
The massacre in Arewa is the latest in a worrying trend of violence targeting Kebbi’s vulnerable border towns, where the porous frontier with neighboring countries has allowed armed groups to operate with increasing impunity.
In a strongly worded statement released on Sunday, the Forum’s Chairman, Saidu Illo, urged the government to abandon centralized strategies in favor of a more coordinated and decentralized approach to stop the bloodshed.
The Forum argued that the current system is failing to protect rural citizens, suggesting that traditional rulers and local government authorities must be empowered to lead community-based defense efforts from the ground up.
Beyond the tragedy in Arewa, the group raised the alarm over emerging threats in the Koko-Besse and Ngaski local government areas, warning that any delay in government intervention could lead to a complete breakdown of order in those communities.
The KDF also called for a renewed diplomatic and military push between the Federal Government and Nigeria’s neighbors to finally secure the borders and flush out the criminal networks using the region as a hideout.
“All hands must be on deck to jointly confront both the root causes and the manifestations of the security challenge bedevilling Kebbi State and the country at large,” Illo stated.