The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba confirmed this in a news conference on Thursday in Abuja.

 He revealed that the new terror group is exacerbating insecurity in the North-West region but the Armed Forces of Nigeria are already containing them.

“Troops are confronted with a new terrorist sect in the North-West. This sect is known as Lukawaras, the Lukawaras are affiliated to terrorists in the Sahel particularly from Mali and Niger Republic.

“They began incursion into Northern part of Nigeria, mainly Sokoto and Kebbi states, and like I mentioned, they came in from Niger and Mali axis,” General Buba said.

He added that the new terror group emerged from Mali and the Republic of Niger after the coup that led to the breakdown of military cooperation between Nigeria and Niger.

 He explained that the terrorists began infiltrating northern areas of Sokoto and Kebbi States from the Niger Republic and Mali, particularly following the coup in Niger.

According to him, joint border operations with Nigerien security forces, previously in place before the coup, had kept the terrorists at bay.

He said, “The terrorists took advantage of the gaps in cooperation between both countries and exploited difficult terrains to make incursions into remote areas in some north-western states to spread their ideology.

“The terrorists were initially welcomed by locals who believed they had good intentions. However, the movement was not reported to the military and security agencies.”

The DHQ spokesperson assured that troops have sustained Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) efforts to degrade the terrorists.

He added that the group continued to exploit vast ungoverned areas to hide, evade troops, and harass locals but stated that troops were locating and eliminating the threat.