When American warplanes struck suspected terrorist enclaves in Sokoto State on Christmas Day, December 25, 2025, Nigeria’s Federal Government publicly welcomed the intervention. Officials described it as a strategic boost to the country’s long-running war against terrorism, insisting the operation had Nigeria’s consent and was aimed at degrading extremist networks operating beyond the traditional Boko Haram strongholds in the North-East. At the time, the strikes were framed as a decisive moment, a show of international cooperation against transnational jihadist threats creeping into the North-West.
Less than a month later, however, the optimism has faded. Instead of ushering in calm, the period following the U.S. airstrikes has coincided with a dramatic escalation in violence across large swathes of the country. Killings, kidnappings, and coordinated attacks have surged, leaving many Nigerians questioning whether the foreign intervention disrupted terrorism or merely rearranged it into an even more complex and dangerous form. DDM NEWS investigations reveal that between December 25, 2025, and January 21, 2026, no fewer than 183 people were killed while at least 366 others were abducted in a wave of attacks spanning at least seven states.
From Kaduna to Zamfara, Niger to Sokoto, Borno to Plateau, armed groups have unleashed sustained violence that has exposed a chilling reality: Nigeria is no longer dealing with a single insurgency or a clearly defined enemy. Instead, the country is confronting a volatile mix of ideological terrorism, profit-driven banditry, and emerging hybrid groups that blend both motives, spreading faster than the state’s capacity to contain them.
A strike that raised more questions than answers
The U.S. airstrikes of December 25 were unusual not only because they occurred on Nigerian soil, but also because of the limited information surrounding them. Washington said the operation targeted Islamic State-linked elements operating in Sokoto State, a region increasingly affected by armed groups exploiting porous borders with the Sahel. Nigerian authorities offered few details, leaving critical questions unanswered. Who exactly were the targets? How many fighters were killed? Were civilians affected? And most importantly, did the strikes significantly weaken terrorist capacity or provoke retaliation?
In the absence of clear official explanations, events on the ground quickly became the loudest response. Within 24 hours of the strikes, armed attacks intensified across multiple states, almost as if militant groups were daring further foreign intervention. Rather than retreating, armed actors appeared to fan out, striking rural communities, highways, places of worship, and even military targets.
From airstrikes to anarchy
DDM NEWS findings show that the North-West, already Nigeria’s most volatile region in recent years, became the epicentre of renewed bloodshed. Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Niger states recorded repeated attacks, while violence also spilled into the North-Central and North-East zones. Villages were raided, farmers ambushed, travellers abducted, and communities thrown into mourning.
Kaduna State, in particular, emerged as ground zero. In one of the most shocking incidents, armed gangs stormed three churches in Kajuru Local Government Area on January 17 and 18, abducting 177 worshippers during services. The scale and coordination of the attack sent shockwaves across the country and highlighted how vulnerable even communal spaces have become. Days later, in a follow-up raid, three people were killed and 10 more kidnapped in the same axis.
Security analysts who spoke to DDM NEWS believe the post-strike environment created confusion and opportunity. “The strike disrupted some jihadist cells, but it also created a power vacuum,” one senior security source said. “Bandits moved quickly to fill that space, expand operations, and increase ransom revenue.”
Boko Haram and ISWAP refuse to fade
Contrary to expectations in some quarters, jihadist groups in the North-East did not retreat after the U.S. intervention. Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), continued to mount attacks on military positions and rural communities in Borno State and surrounding areas. On January 21, five soldiers were killed and several others injured when a Boko Haram suicide bomber rammed into a military convoy in the Timbuktu Triangle area of Borno, a stark reminder that the insurgents remain capable of deadly strikes.
For over a decade, Boko Haram and ISWAP have demonstrated an ability to adapt under pressure, dispersing, regrouping, and exploiting local grievances. DDM NEWS analysis suggests that foreign airstrikes, while tactically significant, have not dismantled the local dynamics that sustain insurgency. Instead, militant groups have adjusted, maintaining mobility and influence across difficult terrain.
The rise of Lakurawa and a new threat frontier
Perhaps the most alarming development since December 25 is the rapid expansion of Lakurawa, an emerging armed group operating along Nigeria’s north-western border. Unlike traditional bandit gangs driven purely by ransom and cattle rustling, Lakurawa reportedly blends ideological messaging with organised criminal activity. The group is said to impose taxes on communities, recruit local youths, carry out coordinated raids, and establish territorial control.
Security officials fear Lakurawa represents a dangerous bridge between Sahelian jihadist networks and Nigeria’s bandit economy. If left unchecked, it could transform the North-West into a new insurgency theatre similar to the North-East, further stretching Nigeria’s already burdened security forces.
The human cost in numbers
Although official statistics remain fragmented, data compiled by DDM NEWS from security reports, humanitarian organisations, and credible media sources paint a grim picture. Between December 25, 2025, and January 21, 2026, at least 183 people were killed and 366 abducted across Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Borno, and Plateau states. These figures are conservative, as many rural attacks go unreported or are under-reported, sometimes due to fear, isolation, or official denial.
In some communities, survivors bury their dead quietly, wary of attracting further attention from armed groups. Families of abducted victims often negotiate in silence, selling assets to raise ransom while hoping their loved ones will return alive.
A nation already bleeding before the strikes
DDM NEWS notes that the surge in violence after December 25 did not occur in a vacuum. Nigeria has grappled with deadly insecurity for over two decades, with the crisis taking a particularly dangerous turn since 2014. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, an estimated 614,937 people were killed between May 2023 and April 2024, while over 2.2 million people were kidnapped within the same period.
Although kidnapping incidents reportedly declined slightly in 2024, violence surged again in 2025. An estimated 6,800 deaths were recorded in the first half of that year alone. April 2025 witnessed 570 deaths and 278 abductions, while August 2025 recorded 545 violent incidents, 732 deaths, and 435 abductions. These figures underscore the scale of Nigeria’s security crisis even before the U.S. intervention.
A relentless timeline of bloodshed
The days following the airstrikes were marked by near-daily attacks. On December 26, armed militia killed 16 people in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi areas of Plateau State, while bandits struck rural communities in Niger State, killing residents and abducting others. December 27 saw attacks in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara, leaving five dead and 20 kidnapped. Similar incidents followed almost every day, spanning Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Niger, Borno, and Plateau states, culminating in the deadly suicide attack on a military convoy on January 21.
War without frontlines
What Nigeria is facing today is no longer a conventional insurgency with clear frontlines. Instead, the conflict has mutated into overlapping layers of violence. Ideological terrorists such as Boko Haram and ISWAP pursue extremist goals. Bandit groups focus on ransom, arms trafficking, and territorial control. Hybrid actors like Lakurawa combine ideology with organised crime. Bombing one group can inadvertently strengthen another, creating a vicious cycle.
A senior military officer admitted to DDM NEWS, “We are fighting shadows. When you hit one camp, three new groups emerge elsewhere.”
Kidnapping as an industry
One of the most disturbing trends since December 25 is the industrialisation of kidnapping. Armed groups now operate like corporations, with intelligence units identifying targets, strike teams carrying out abductions, negotiators handling ransom talks, and logistics networks moving victims through forests. Ransom payments are reinvested into weapons, recruitment, and expansion, turning insecurity into a self-sustaining criminal economy.
As Nigeria becomes one of the world’s leading kidnapping hotspots, questions persist about whether the U.S. airstrikes, though well-intentioned, may have exacerbated an already fragile situation.
A dangerous crossroads
Experts remain divided. Some argue the strikes were necessary to curb transnational jihadist expansion, while others warn they risk drawing Nigeria deeper into global counterterrorism battles without addressing root causes. DDM NEWS analysis suggests that while specific militant cells may have been weakened, the broader conflict has become more fragmented and harder to defeat.
Beyond bombs and bullets lies a deeper crisis driven by weak state presence in rural areas, poverty, unemployment, porous borders, arms proliferation, corruption, and governance failures. Until these structural issues are addressed, military victories may remain temporary, and Nigeria risks sliding into a prolonged era of decentralised violence where terrorists, bandits, and militias compete for territory, influence, and blood.
