Steven Kefas, founder of the Community Development and Rights Advocacy Foundation, has alleged that about three trailer-loads of Lakurawa fighters entered Sokoto State from the Sahel region through Niger in August last year without any intervention by authorities.

Kefas made the claim on Thursday while fielding questions on Channels Television’s programme.

He said the influx of foreign fighters is part of a growing security challenge sustained by funds generated through kidnapping and ransom payments.

According to him, a close associate who spent about four months in captivity and was released in October last year revealed that arms suppliers usually arrive at terrorist camps on the same day ransom payments are delivered.

He said the ransom money is immediately used to purchase weapons.

Kefas said the practice shows that kidnapping has become a means of raising funds to acquire arms, warning that the trend suggests the insecurity may persist if not urgently addressed.

He further stated that fighters continue to enter Nigeria from countries such as Mali and Niger, while ransom payments provide a steady source of funding for weapons acquisition, enabling terrorist groups to expand their operations.

Kefas noted that insecurity has spread to states previously considered less affected, including Kwara and Kogi, which he said are now witnessing similar criminal activities.

He also raised concerns over what he described as targeted attacks and alleged land occupation in parts of Kaduna State, particularly Kajuru Local Government Area. Kefas cited the abduction of about 177 worshippers from churches on a Sunday, as well as previous attacks in which people were killed during church services.

According to him, nearly 40 communities in Kajuru Local Government Area have been displaced, with some reportedly occupied by terrorists. He described the situation as complex and said the government has not handled it adequately.

Kefas said: “In July, a very close friend of mine spent four months in captivity. He was released in November, October, early October, last year. And when he was released, he told me so many things. One of them was that the very day they are coming to pay your ransom.

“That same day, you have suppliers of arms who have brought arms into the camp, and then the ransom will be used to pay them for the arms.

“It means that the kidnap that is going on is to raise funds to acquire more arms. It means there’s no end in sight. It means this criminality, this terrorism, is not going to end anytime soon. Because I was wondering what do these terrorists do with this money.

“Because they don’t look good, they don’t they don’t build houses, they don’t have cars. But he answered my question when he was released. I debrief him for three hours, and he told me that any day there’s a ransom payment on that camp, somebody is bringing arms to supply to the terrorists.”

When asked if the terrorists are building their own army or militia, Kefas continued: “Obviously that is what it means, because in August last year, I reported that about three trailer load of Lakurawa fighters came in from the Sahel, from Niger to Sokoto state.

“Nobody did anything about it. So these fighters keep coming in, or these terrorists keep coming in, whether from Mali, whether from Niger, and then you already have a system where funds are acquired through ransom payment, and then they use it to acquire more arms.

“So we don’t know what the future holds, because they believe that they are building a stronger network, and that is why it is spreading. You could see Kwara state, Kogi state don’t used to be in this conversation, but now you have such activities going on there.

“It is a complex issue that the government is not really handling properly, and then talking about whether it’s targeted, I believe it is also targeted. Because how do you explain that on a Sunday, 177 people have been taken away from their churches, and in the same Kajuru in July last year, three people were killed during an attack they were in the church.

“So how do you explain it and the issue of land grabbing? It is true, there are communities, almost 40 communities, the last time I counted, in Kajuru local government area, that have been displaced, some of them occupied by these terrorists.”