The dust has far from settled following the unprecedented United States military airstrikes on an ISIS hideout in Sokoto State on Christmas Day While international headlines focus on the tactical success of the mission, a fierce domestic debate has ignited over how such a high-level terrorist base could exist under the nose of Nigeria’s traditional and spiritual leadership.
A Base in the Sultan’s Domain:
Speaking during a heated segment on Voice of the People TV, Barrister Eluchie expressed profound shock and disappointment His argument centers on the proximity of the ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-W) and Lakurawa cells to the heart of the Sokoto Caliphate.
Key Points of Eluchie’s Argument:
- The Silence of Leadership: Eluchie questioned why the Sultan, as the spiritual head of Muslims in Nigeria and a key figure in the North, did not raise an alarm about the “foreign” elements settling in local forests.
- Intelligence Failure vs. Local Knowledge: The lawyer argued that it is nearly impossible for a terrorist “hideout” of the scale targeted by 12 Tomahawk missiles to go unnoticed by local traditional structures.
Sovereignty and Shame:
He noted that it took a foreign power (the U.S.) to identify and neutralize a threat on Nigerian soil, which he described as a “slap in the face” to domestic intelligence and traditional oversight.
The Christmas Day Strike:
On December 25, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military had launched “powerful and deadly strikes” against “ISIS Terrorist Scum” in Northwest Nigeria. The operation targeted the Bauni forest and areas near Jabo, locations known to house militants from the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) and the Lakurawa group.
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