Suspected terrorists in northern Nigeria are reportedly relocating from their bases following US missile attacks carried out on Christmas night. Community leaders told Sunday Punch that they observed movements as armed groups began leaving known hideouts in small numbers after the strikes.
President Donald Trump had announced that the US military launched deadly strikes against Islamic State terrorists in northwestern Nigeria. The Federal Government confirmed it gave support for the operation, which targeted locations used by the militants.
No deaths were recorded at the two locations hit by missiles at Jabo in Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State and Offa in Kwara State, where a projectile struck a farmland and some buildings. Officials in Tangaza LGA, however, said further strikes were carried out on suspected Lakurawa armed group hideouts in parts of Sokoto, leading to injuries and destruction of property.
In Benue State, the Chairman of the Traditional Council in Gwer West LGA, Daniel Abomtse, raised the alarm over an influx of armed herders into communities after the Sokoto attacks. He said he had noticed their movement into Gwer West and Agatu, alleging that they arrived with sophisticated weapons and were grazing openly.
Abomtse praised the US operation and appealed for the strikes to be extended to Benue, Kogi, Taraba, Niger and Plateau states. He described Trump’s action as one of the best things to have happened to Nigeria’s fight against terrorism in the last 16 years.
Security and community sources in Tangaza, Gudu and parts of Illela in Sokoto said the airstrikes had thrown bandit networks into disarray. They reported signs of dislocation, with gunmen breaking into smaller groups and attempting to move through remote forest corridors or cross into neighbouring border areas to evade air and ground surveillance.
A community leader in Tangaza said the attack sent a strong message and forced many criminals to abandon familiar routes and camps. State officials added that intelligence assessments were ongoing to track movements and prevent militants from infiltrating safer communities, while border patrols and joint operations were being reinforced.
Security analyst Bashar Umar said state authorities, working with the military and other agencies, were strengthening surveillance across flashpoints, particularly in border councils. The aim, he noted, is to monitor and disrupt the movement of fleeing terrorists.
In the North East, US lawmaker Riley Moore said the strikes helped prevent “deadly Christmas attacks in Nigeria.” Writing on X, he noted that Nigerian Christians had suffered killings during recent Christmas seasons and said this time, radical terrorists were “on the receiving end of 12 Tomahawk missiles” in coordination with the Nigerian government.
The US has also resumed surveillance operations over Sambisa Forest in Borno State. Sahel focused terrorism tracker Brant Philip shared flight tracking data on X indicating that a Gulfstream V aircraft, commonly adapted for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, was operating over Borno.
He wrote that ISR flights targeting ISWAP in Sambisa restarted after a one day pause following the Sokoto strikes. The renewed mission follows recent talks between Nigerian National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Security expert Kabiru Adamu warned that fleeing terrorists may try to blend into law abiding communities. He also cautioned that they could seek support from international terror networks and sympathetic governments, using propaganda to frame the strikes as attacks by a Christian country on Muslims in Nigeria.
Adamu said this narrative could be used to attract funding, recruits and sympathy from other extremist groups. He added that Nigeria risks becoming a theatre for wider terror conflict and urged security agencies to boost surveillance, counter fake news and prevent infiltration.
Professor Tar Usman of the Nigerian Defence Academy said the US intervention would distract terrorists and disrupt their planning. He noted that uncertainty about when next the US might strike would create fear in militant camps and make it harder for them to organise attacks.
Usman, however, warned that the strikes alone would not end terrorism. He predicted that insurgents may change tactics and attempt to disappear into civilian populations, stressing the need for vigilance and strong intelligence to detect them.
A senior government source told Sunday Punch that Nigeria and the US are working closely to end killings, banditry and kidnapping. The source said some terrorists were escaping towards Kogi and nearby states and that measures were being put in place to flush them out.
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