Reports indicate that suspected terrorists and armed bandits in northern Nigeria have begun relocating following a U.S. military airstrike conducted on Thursday night.
Community leaders in Tangaza, Gudu, and parts of Illela in Sokoto State told Punch that they observed movements of small groups of hoodlums after the Christmas Day operation. The strike appears to have disrupted familiar routes and forced the criminals to abandon their camps.
“People are cautious, but there is relief that their hideouts were hit,” a Tangaza leader said. According to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, some armed groups moved toward remote forest corridors, while others attempted to cross into neighboring border communities to evade both aerial and ground surveillance.
Meanwhile, Daniel Abomtse, Chairman of the Traditional Council in Gwer West LGA of Benue State, raised concerns over the influx of armed herders into local communities. He claimed that bandits fleeing Sokoto had moved into Gwer West and Agatu, armed and grazing openly. Abomtse called on U.S. forces to extend operations to other affected states including Benue, Kogi, Taraba, Niger, and Plateau.
Government officials in Sokoto confirmed that intelligence assessments were ongoing to track the direction and scale of bandit movement, while police sources in Benue could not immediately confirm Abomtse’s claims.
The airstrike, which targeted key hideouts of Islamic State-affiliated elements in the region, appears to have sent a strong deterrent signal, though it has also heightened vigilance in surrounding communities as armed groups seek new routes and hideouts.
