Boko Haram, Lakurawa exploit Nigeria’s security gaps as threats spread, SBM warns

Nigeria’s security crisis is widening as insurgent groups, criminal gangs and politically linked armed actors continue to exploit gaps in state security across several regions, according to SBM Intelligence.

The assessment was contained in SBM Intelligence’s latest security analysis, which examined recent incidents involving Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North-East, Lakurawa in the North-West, armed groups in the South-East and criminal networks across the South-South and South-West.

The report warned that while some recent military operations have weakened insurgent and criminal networks, the groups remain capable of adapting, regrouping and exploiting poorly secured communities.

What SBM Intelligence is saying

SBM Intelligence said the latest incidents point to a security environment in which non-state armed groups are increasingly exploiting weak local intelligence, difficult terrain and gaps in state presence.

• “The common thread connecting the VIP ambush in Abia State and the political abduction in Ebonyi State is the dangerous proliferation of non-state armed groups operating with high mobility across rural community boundaries, exploiting weak local intelligence systems.”

The report said Boko Haram factions operating around the Sambisa Forest are increasingly conducting opportunistic raids on peripheral communities to obtain food, medical supplies and cash as military operations restrict their access to established supply lines.

• “Given the high-density containment of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in Borno State custodial facilities, the escape of an inmate is most likely attributable to insider compromise or institutional laxity, though it remains less likely that it was an externally coordinated breakout,” the report stated.
• It also warned that Lakurawa’s activities in Zamfara and Sokoto…