Borgu Jihadist Turf War: Lakurawa, Mahmuda Battle for Border Control
By Onibiyo Segun and Suleiman Ayuba
(MINNA, Niger State)–Lakurawa and Mahmuda militants are engaged in an ongoing clash around Lake Kainji, with recent fighting reportedly linked to competition for territorial control, according to security expert Malik Samuel.
“There is ongoing clash between Mahmudawa and Lakurawa around Kainji, with Zaid Abu Sufyan, Lakurawa’s former commander in charge of Zugun-Liba in Kebbi State, killed,” Samuel wrote on X.
Fighting began Monday, August 24, 2026, Samuel said, after Lakurawa’s Nigeria leader Ridwan Zakariya arrived from Sokoto to support operations in Niger State, amid rivalry with bandit-terrorist Dogo Gide’s fighters and Mahmuda over Kainji settlements.
Lakurawa fighters initiated attacks on Muslim worshippers in Niger State’s Borgu County last Friday, Aug. 21, as security reports point to a widening jihadist rivalry over control of communities, recruitment networks and strategic routes around Lake Kainji, TruthNigeria has learned.
The assault targeted worshippers caught in a crossfire between extremist factions competing for influence. Attacks hit Gidan-Zana, Kpenya and nearby Dekara communities during Friday prayers, leaving deaths, mass abductions and displacement.
The Niger State Police Command confirmed attacks in Borgu but did not publicly identify the attackers or release final casualty figures.
TruthNigeria earlier reported, based on witnesses and local sources.
A video later circulated showing hundreds of captives gathered in an open area, including women and children. A voice speaking Hausa urged viewers to identify relatives among those shown.
Battle for the Kainji Lake
Security analysts Col. Danbaba Aliyu (rtd.), SignWell Security Consult told TruthNigeria, “Lakurawa operated in Borgu since 2019, building influence among Muslim and traditional communities.”
Aliyu added that, “Mamuda arrived in 2025, pushed out remaining Lakurawa fighters and gained local acceptance because it had many community members, despite similar extremist ideologies”.
He added that the August 21 assault may have targeted communities perceived by Lakurawa as shifting allegiance toward Mahmuda.
Shuaibu Adamu, a native of Dekara and former teacher, told TruthNigeria that the rivalry between the groups had existed for years.
“Lakurawa started appearing around 2018, while Mamudawa emerged around 2024 and they were always clashing,” Adamu said. “In 2025, Mamudawa claimed the area. Police and Army presence remains scarce because of forests, bad roads and rivers.”
Why Attack Muslims During Friday Prayers?
The most troubling question from the Borgu assault is why Muslim worshippers became targets inside mosques.
Dr. Murtala Ahmed Rufai, lecturer at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, said, “Some of these groups practice takfir (meaning: they excommunicate other believers or accuse them of apostasy). They declare mainstream imams and communities who cooperate with vigilantes, police or rival factions as apostates.”
TruthNigeria could not independently establish whether the targeted imams provided intelligence to security forces or belonged to a specific Islamic movement.
However, residents said communities around Dekara and Gidan-Zana had previously assisted security patrols with information about movements through surrounding forests.
“If a community gives intelligence to security forces or hosts vigilantes, a rival group can punish it to cut off that cooperation,” Col. Aliyu said.
Were These Mosques Specifically Chosen?
Islamic cleric Munir Ahmadu of Minna told TruthNigeria that the attacked communities were not associated with a separate Islamic movement.
“Their mosques followed mainstream Sunni traditions, sharing geography rather than affiliation,” Ahmadu said.
TruthNigeria could not confirm why the mosques were selected, but investigators are examining whether attackers targeted communities perceived as supporting government forces or rival Mahmuda networks.
What Language Did Attackers Speak?
Several residents told TruthNigeria they could not determine the attackers’ language because the operation was chaotic and many victims were hiding during the assault.
“But they were chanting Allahu Akbar,” Salisu Kankara told TruthNigeria.
Security experts cautioned that language or religious expressions alone cannot establish ethnicity or group membership because extremist networks recruit across communities.
TruthNigeria found no credible independent evidence that Lakurawa hired Fulani mercenaries specifically for the Borgu operation.
Research on Islamic State Sahel Province-linked networks shows recruitment across several ethnic communities, including Fulani, Arab, Tuareg, Songhai and Djerma populations, pointing toward a broader extremist recruitment system.
Lakurawa, Mahmuda and the ISSP Question
A January 2026 study by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point linked much of Lakurawa activity in northwestern Nigeria to Islamic State Sahel Province militants while noting that the Lakurawa label has covered different elements over time.
The Institute for Security Studies described Lakurawa as a hybrid jihadist-criminal formation connected to wider Sahel militant movements.
Security research links Mahmuda to Mallam Mahmuda and jihadist networks around Kainji Lake and Kainji National Park. The EU Agency for Asylum describes it as a new jihadist group linked to Boko Haram and Ansaru networks.
A New Security Test Ahead of 2027
Dr. Rufai told TruthNigeria that, “jihadist violence has targeted both Muslim and Christian communities.” He warned that continued rural attacks ahead of Nigeria’s February 2027 elections could weaken confidence and civic participation.
The unanswered question is whether Borgu was only an opportune skirmish between Lakurawa and Mahmuda, or the onset of a large-scale struggle for control of communities along Nigeria’s northern border routes.
Onibiyo Segun and Suleiman Ayuba report on terrorism and conflict for TruthNigeria.
