Lakurawa terrorists killed three Airtel employees in Kebbi, say police

The police command in Kebbi says members of the Lakurawa terrorist group killed three employees of Airtel, the telecommunication firm, in the state.

The deceased were reportedly installing a surveillance mast in the area on Friday when they were gunned down.

Lakurawa, which is also known as the Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), infiltrated parts of Sokoto and Kebbi from Niger Republic and Mali.

The insurgents were said to have invaded a construction site at Gumki village in Arewa LGA on the night.

According to Nafiu Abubakar, spokesperson of the police in Kebbi, four persons, including an indigene, were killed.

He said the deceased were immediately evacuated to the Sir Yahaya Memorial hospital in Birnin Kebbi, capital of the state.

Abubakar added that Bello Sani, the state’s commissioner of police, has deployed tactical teams to the area to deal with the gunmen.

“The commissioner has deployed additional tactical teams to the location where the incident happened with the aim of arresting the perpetrators,” Abubakar told TheCable.

“The incident happened on Friday night with three staff of the Airtel and one indigene killed in the attack.”

On January 8, the terror group reportedly killed four soldiers in an attack on Tafouka, a town in Konni, Tahoua region in southern Niger.

Military chiefs have repeatedly ordered troops to expel or eliminate the terror group from Nigerian territory.

Nigeria has been battling insurgents, who have killed over 50,000 people and displaced millions, since 2009.