Terrorists Relocate After US Strike – Nigeria Hit, Bandits Scatter

By: Abudu Olalekan

It started like a regular December night. Then the sky lit up. Explosions. The unmistakable sound of Tomahawk missiles tearing through the dark.

By the next morning, things were different. Quieter… and heavier.

Across parts of Sokoto and Kwara, residents woke up to scorched land and stories. Stories about how the United States had launched missiles targeting terrorist hideouts in Nigeria. And how it changed everything.

That very night – Thursday, December 25th – President Donald Trump announced that US forces had carried out precision strikes on Islamic State-linked terrorists in northwestern Nigeria. The move wasn’t just symbolic. It was strategic. Loud. And apparently, needed.

The Nigerian government later confirmed it had given the green light. They called it “targeted support”—places where intelligence showed terrorists had settled in. But no official casualties. Not yet.

A farmland in Jabo, Tambuwal LGA of Sokoto State took the hit. Another missile landed near some buildings in Offa, Kwara State. Again, no deaths reported, but homes were damaged. Millions lost in property. A few wounded.

But that wasn’t all.

Local officials in Tangaza LGA reported more action. More strikes in parts of Sokoto – especially where the Lakurawa group had been hiding out. Armed, dangerous, and unsettled now.

And yes, the strikes worked. Kind of.

Across Sokoto, Gudu, Illela – even nearby regions – there were whispers. Then sightings. Residents told Reportersroom they saw the terrorists scattering. Not all at once. Just slowly, in small numbers. Melting away into the forest corridors, some even trying to slip past Nigeria’s porous northern borders.

“Mood changed,” one leader in Tangaza said. “You could feel the disruption. Their camps? They left in a rush.”

But guess what?

They didn’t just disappear.

Over in Benue State, a new problem was emerging. The traditional ruler of Gwer West LGA, Chief Daniel Abomtse, raised a red flag. He’d seen the slow creep of new faces. Armed herders—most likely dislodged fighters—migrating into his community, grazing publicly, holding weapons like it was nothing.

“I saw them,” he told Reportersroom. “And they’re not just passing through. They’re settling. They came from Sokoto, now hiding here in our forests. We need help before this spreads.”

Abomtse didn’t stop there. He had a message for Trump.

“Don’t stop in Sokoto,” he said. “If this fight is serious, send help to Benue, Kogi, Taraba, Niger, Plateau. This problem’s deeper than one strike.”

At the time of this report, the Benue police command had yet to respond to his claims. Calls made. Messages sent. Silence.

Back in Sokoto, there’s talk of tension and anxiety. Government sources revealed that airborne surveillance is active again. Intelligence teams are tracking terrorist movements. Checking if they’re regrouping or just hiding. Either way, federal forces are ramping up efforts to block escape routes.

What about Sambisa?

Far away, in Borno State, whispers turned to confirmation. A US Congressman, Riley Moore, posted online on Saturday. Said the terrorists didn’t get to carry out their usual Christmas attacks this time. “This year,” he wrote, “they got missiles instead.” He also hinted that US planes were once again scanning Sambisa Forest.

Tracker data backed this up. A Gulfstream V aircraft run by the US was spotted flying over NE Nigeria. That’s intelligence-gathering airspace. Translation? They’re watching.

But observers say—it’s not over yet.

Security analyst, Kabiru Adamu, warned that this chaos, this scattering, is just phase one. “They’ll blend in,” he said. “Disguise as normal people. Maybe even twist the narrative – say they’re victims of Western hate, use it to fish for sympathy.”

Another expert, Professor Tar Usman from the Defence Academy in Kaduna, added: “They’ve been unsettled, but don’t think they’ve been defeated. Fear is real in their camps, but give them space and they’ll adapt.”

It’s not all doom though.

The US involvement has changed the tempo. The old calm – the kind terrorists use to regroup – is broken. And with that comes an opening. A chance for Nigeria to press harder.

But if nothing follows this strike? If the momentum drops? They’ll be back.

A government source hinted more cooperation between Nigeria and the US is on the table. But added, quite plainly, that some terrorists have already fled toward Kogi and other nearby regions. That they’re on the move.

This story isn’t neat.

This war? Far from over.