New terror group ‘Mahmuda’ reportedly emerges in North Central Nigeria

A new terrorist group known as the Mahmuda Group has reportedly emerged in North Central Nigeria, wreaking havoc across several rural communities around the Kainji Lake National Park (KLNP), which spans parts of Kwara and Niger States.

According to an investigation by SaharaReporters, the group has carried out a series of coordinated attacks on communities in Kaiama Local Government Area—specifically in Kemaanji, Tenebo, Baabete, Nuku, and Nanu—as well as in Baruten Local Government Area’s Yashikira District in Kwara State. The group is also said to have seized control of villages in Babana and Wawa Districts in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.

A recent attack reportedly occurred on Wednesday in Kemanji, where the group ambushed a local vigilante team, killing over 15 members and several villagers.

Locals say the militants, led by a man who refers to himself as Mahmuda or Mallam, communicate threats through voice recordings and demand ransoms after carrying out kidnappings. The group reportedly enforces strict religious and social codes in the territories under its control, including banning alcohol and regulating local disputes.

Sources indicate that the group might be a breakaway faction of Boko Haram, with claims of being a moderate Islamist sect with jihadist roots. There are also suggestions that some of its members may have infiltrated Nigeria through the Benin or Niger Republic borders, raising concerns about the porous security around national parks and forested regions.

The Mahmuda Group reportedly took control of the Kainji National Park after displacing park rangers more than five years ago, capitalising on the ungoverned space and the absence of security forces. They are said to control over 3,970 square kilometres of Nigerian territory, imposing taxes on herders and farmers, abducting residents, engaging in illegal logging, and allegedly operating illegal mining activities.

Locals describe living under militant rule as a grim reality. Community members pay dues (zakah) to graze cattle, farming levies to cultivate land, and are sometimes forced into labour. The militants have also been accused of targeting herbalists who are believed to assist vigilante groups in resisting their control.

There is growing concern over the group’s increasing influence, with some residents accusing authorities of ignoring their presence due to the militants’ access to sophisticated weaponry.

Despite these revelations, there has been no official statement from security agencies regarding the group’s existence or operations, further deepening fears of a widening security vacuum in rural Nigeria.