Dando Sibu, the head of the Lakurawa terrorist group’s operations in Northwest Nigeria, has died from injuries sustained during a clash with security forces last month, according to a journalist and researcher tracking the group.
Sibu succumbed this Tuesday to wounds he suffered on March 24 during an attack on security forces in Giro Masa village, Shanga Local Government Area of Kebbi State, journalist and researcher Malik Samuel reported.
In what appears to have been a desperate bid to save his commander, the group allegedly resorted to extreme measures to find medical care — kidnapping an individual last Friday and dispatching a letter to seven village heads demanding anyone with knowledge of treating broken bones be sent to assist.
Sibu had served as second-in-command of Lakurawa’s operations in Nigeria for over a decade, overseeing the group’s brutal expansion across Sokoto and Kebbi states. His death marks a significant blow to the organisation’s leadership structure in the Northwest.
The news has sent ripples of uncertainty through communities in Gudu, Kebbe, and Tangaza local government areas, where residents are anxiously watching to see how the leadership vacuum will affect the group’s behaviour and its fraught relationship with civilian populations in the region.
Security analysts are expected to monitor closely whether Sibu’s death triggers internal power struggles within the group or prompts retaliatory attacks against communities and security personnel in the coming weeks.
As of press time, the Nigerian military and relevant security agencies had not issued an official statement confirming or responding to the report.
