Security analyst Kabir Adamu has said recent United States airstrikes on suspected terrorist camps in Nigeria have not achieved their intended objectives, citing continued attacks and a lack of verifiable evidence of significant damage to militant groups.
Speaking on ARISE News on Tuesday, Adamu said ongoing violence after the strikes suggests the operation failed to substantially degrade the capacity of the targeted groups. “In simple terms, no. The fact that attacks have continued shows the intended results are yet to be achieved,” he said.
Adamu noted that there has been no independent confirmation of casualties or destroyed infrastructure linked to the strikes. “We have not seen verifiable images of dead fighters, destroyed camps, gun trucks or weapons. That raises questions about whether the intended outcomes were met,” he added.
His comments contrast with reports by newsmen, which cited footage from January 11, 2026, allegedly showing multiple strikes carried out between December 24 and 25, 2025. The footage reportedly showed secondary explosions and suspected militants fleeing, suggesting the presence of explosive materials at the sites.
Adamu also questioned the effectiveness of the operation after reports that four of the 16 Tomahawk missiles used failed to detonate. He described the incident as costly, noting that each missile costs about $2 million. He further argued that such long-range weaponry was ill-suited to Nigeria’s asymmetric security challenges, where ground operations and intelligence-led tactics may be more effective.
According to him, the missiles were launched from a US naval vessel in the Gulf of Guinea, about 1,000 kilometres away, a distance that could have affected accuracy. He also cited possible intelligence shifts, technical faults, weather conditions and mapping errors as contributing factors.
Adamu said the United States relied largely on Nigerian intelligence for the strikes, noting that US intelligence capacity in the region is limited compared to previous years. He also questioned why the Lakurawa group was targeted, describing it as a low-level threat compared with Boko Haram, ISWAP and Ansaru.
He argued that the operation served symbolic and political purposes, pointing to its timing on Christmas Day and its location in Sokoto State. While Nigeria may have gained diplomatically, Adamu said the underlying security threat remains, citing continued killings after the strikes.
Referencing Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited’s 2025 report, Adamu said Nigeria recorded about 9,000 conflict-related deaths last year, with banditry accounting for most fatalities. He urged authorities to focus on cutting off terrorists’ funding, recruitment, mobility and access to weapons, stressing that dismantling these support systems is key to ending the insurgency.