Four days after a U.S. airstrike targeted terrorist camps in Sokoto State, a detailed investigative report claims the operation, while successful in destroying a facility, failed to neutralize key leaders due to a critical intelligence breach, prompting a major reassessment in Washington.
The Attack and the Alleged Leak
The operation, which took place on Christmas Day, involved the launch of 16 GPS-guided munitions from MQ-9 Reaper drones, targeting Lakurawa terrorist group strongholds in the Bauni Forest. According to the report, the strike obliterated the location and killed a terrorist commander left behind, known as Ba Sulh, along with approximately ten other militants.
However, the report alleges that the mission's primary objective—to eliminate the group's top leadership—was thwarted. Sources claim that 96 hours before the attack, Nigeria's most-wanted bandit kingpin, Bello Turji, used an encrypted satellite phone to warn six senior Lakurawa commanders of the impending strike. The intelligence is said to have been passed to Turji by political informants with access to the operation's command center in Nigeria.
A Coordinated Escape and a "Livid" Pentagon
Acting on the tip-off, the six commanders—identified as Abu Khadijah, Abdurrahman, Dadi Gumba, Usman Shehu, Idris Taklakse, and Ibrahim Suyeka—reportedly evacuated their Sokoto base under cover of darkness 24 hours before the missiles hit. They left behind Commander Ba Sulh, who allegedly saw staying as a sacrificial act of martyrdom.
The commanders, along with their armourers and fighters from affiliated groups like the Islamic State's Sahel Province (ISSP) and Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), have allegedly regrouped with Turji in Kebbi State. With logistical support from two named financiers—Nurudeen Gani Aliyu and Ladan Ibrahim—they are reportedly planning to flee Nigeria, exploiting porous borders to enter Niger Republic and Cameroon.
The alleged intelligence failure has reportedly caused significant anger within the U.S. defense establishment. The report states that U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was "livid and unhappy with the outcome," hitting his table in frustration. In response, he is said to have issued a new directive to U.S. Special Forces in the region: future operations must not only neutralize targets but also "video record bodies of militants obliterated as evidence." He also ordered a review of operational secrecy protocols with U.S. Africa Command.
A Strategic Setback with Lasting Implications
If confirmed, this account reveals a critical vulnerability in joint international counter-terrorism operations: the potential for high-level intelligence leaks within partner nations. The report suggests that the airstrike, while a show of force, may have succeeded only in displacing and scattering a dangerous network rather than decapitating it.
The alleged escape plan highlights how terrorist groups exploit extensive, ungoverned borderlands and sophisticated smuggling networks to evade security forces, a challenge that requires a coordinated, regional response beyond kinetic strikes alone.
This development places immense pressure on Nigerian intelligence and security services to plug leaks and raises urgent questions about the reliability of the partnership as the U.S. considers further military action in the region.
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