Lakurawa strikes a road project in Kebbi: two soldiers and a Chinese national killed ‎

Suspected Lakurawa militants killed two soldiers and a Chinese national on Thursday in an attack on construction workers in Maiyama Local Government Area of Kebbi State, in north-western Nigeria. No group has claimed the attack, so "suspected" remains the right word.

What happened
The attackers killed the three at the construction site of Hitech, the company handling the federal government's Badagry/Ilela Super Highway project at Gubba community. The site lies in Gubba village, Andarai District, according to reports citing the Kebbi State Police Command.

Police spokesperson SP Bashir Usman said the two soldiers were providing security for the Chinese national and other workers when the attackers struck.He said two civilians were also wounded by gunfire and evacuated for treatment. The soldiers' names were not released because, he said, they are not police officers.

A second attack the day before
The killings followed an assault on a military base. According to TRT Afrika's Hausa report, security sources said the attacks happened on Wednesday and Thursday, with the militants reportedly riding more than 100 motorcycles. Troops of Operation Fansan Yamma's Sector 2 repelled an attack on the Forward Operating Base in Maiyama.

The Hausa report says the attackers used heavy weapons including a machine gun and rocket-propelled grenades, and that troops later recovered 17 motorcycles, a machine gun, an AK-47 and a communications device.

The joint force spokesman, Lt Col Aliyu Danja, said the area was firmly under the troops' control and that patrols were continuing. Those claims come from the military and could not be verified independently.

"Not from Kebbi"
Police stressed that the attackers came from outside. Reports say they infiltrated from Kebbe Local Government Area of neighbouring Sokoto State. Usman said the attackers are not from Kebbi, and described the attack as barbaric and unwarranted.

That may be true of the route, but it does not answer the harder question. A group that can cross a border, gather on motorcycles near a military base and strike a guarded work site the next day has found gaps in the security picture.

Why a road project
A highway is a visible target. Construction sites are fixed, predictable and often guarded by small escorts. Foreign workers also draw attention beyond Nigeria, which makes them valuable targets for a group seeking publicity or leverage.

This is my own reading, not something the authorities have said. The project is named for its end points, Badagry in Lagos State and Ilela in Sokoto State.

The attack adds to concerns about the border areas between Kebbi and Sokoto, where suspected Lakurawa militants are said to carry out attacks and infiltrations.

Who the Lakurawa are
Lakurawa is an armed group said to be affiliated with Islamic State Sahel Province, operating in Mali, Niger, Kebbi and Sokoto.

This is a reference-source summary, and analysts differ on how close the ties are. The point for Ghana and the coastal states is that the Sahel's insurgencies no longer stay inside the Sahel. Groups move along old trade and herding routes, and a Niger-border corridor like this one is exactly where they find room.

What to watch
Foreign workers. Whether Chinese and other foreign contractors change their security arrangements, or whether work slows on the road.

Accountability. Names of the dead, official statements from the Nigerian military, and whether China's embassy comments.

Rural communities. Attacks like these usually bring further harm to villagers caught between militants and security forces. Their protection should be part of any response.

A highway is meant to connect people to markets. Making it safe means more than posting soldiers at a site.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

References
Leadership, "Lakurawa Terrorists Kill 2 Soldiers, Chinese National In Kebbi." leadership.ng/lakurawa-terrorists-kill-two-soldiers-chinese-national-in-kebbi/

Daily Trust, "Troops repel terrorists' attack on Kebbi military base." dailytrust.com/troops-repel-terrorists-attack-on-kebbi-military-base/

TG News, "Lakurawa Kill 3 As Troops Crush Attack On Military Base in Kebbi." tgnews.com.ng/lakurawa-kill-3-as-troops-crush-attack-on-kebbi/

Vanguard, "Lakurawa attack kills two soldiers, Chinese national in Kebbi," Oct 2026. vanguardngr.com/2026/10/lakurawa-attack-kills-two-soldiers-chinese-national-in-kebbi/

TRT Afrika (Hausa), "'Yanta'adda na Lakurawa sun kashe sojoji biyu da wani ɗan China a jihar Kebbi a Nijeriya." trtafrika.com/hausa/article/c5a65d8aff2e

Wikipedia, "2025 Kwallajiya attack" (background on Lakurawa). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Kwallajiya_attack