“This is an unfortunate situation. We all had a sleepless night due to fear of the unknown, especially after witnessing how the bomb landed, broke into pieces, and caught fire. Our community is currently in a serious and distressing condition,” said Bashar Jabo, a local business owner. “By God’s mercy, the explosive did not land in our houses but fell into the bush. This is something we have never witnessed in this country until today, in the Jabo Community of Tambuwal LGA,” added Malam Aliyu Jabo, a community leader.

Footage from the site shows police cordoning off the landing points, marking craters, and collecting debris while residents observed the damage. “This is the exact spot where the bomb first landed before bouncing and breaking into pieces, which caused the flames.

It created a large crater, though it now appears smaller due to people visiting the site. Some children even picked up fragments of the bomb, while the remaining debris has been taken by the military,” said eyewitness Lukuman Myhammad. Authorities confirmed that security and emergency teams remain on alert to prevent further incidents and to ensure residents’ safety.

The US strikes, reportedly conducted by the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) at the request of Nigerian authorities, form part of ongoing operations against Islamic State factions in Nigeria, which have been linked to targeted killings and attacks on civilians, particularly Christians.

The Nigerian Foreign Ministry confirmed the strikes early Friday, describing them as part of “structured security cooperation” aimed at countering the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism.

Nigerian authorities stressed that militant groups target people of all faiths, and that the strikes are part of broader efforts to stabilise the region following a national security emergency declared in November. The Pentagon later clarified on X (formerly Twitter) that the strikes were conducted “in coordination with Nigerian authorities,” amending an earlier post.

In November, President Trump had threatened to withdraw US aid and intervene directly in response to the alleged “mass slaughter” of Christians, which the Nigerian government has denied. According to international reports, more than 7,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria in the first half of 2025, mainly in the northern Middle Belt.

“The strike followed credible intelligence and careful operational planning aimed at degrading the capability of the targeted elements while minimising collateral damage.

“The operation underscores the resolve of the Federal Government of Nigeria, working with strategic partners, to confront transnational terrorism and prevent foreign fighters from establishing or expanding footholds within Nigeria’s borders,” Local media The Guardian quoted the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Major-General Samaila Uba.

The U.S. military ’s Africa Command had said the strike was carried out in Sokoto state in coordination with Nigerian authorities and killed multiple ISIS militants.

This follows Trump’s post on Truth Social that said: “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!”

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC that the strike was a "joint operation" targeting "terrorists", and it "has nothing to do with a particular religion ".

Without naming ISIS specifically, Tuggar said the operation had been planned "for quite some time" and had used intelligence information provided by the Nigerian side, reports Reuters. He did not rule out further strikes, adding that this depended on "decisions to be taken by the leadership of the two countries".

It is real. It is devastating. But the narrative of Christians versus Muslims misses the complexity.

The perpetrators are not one monolithic force. Boko Haram and its splinter group ISWAP are part of it. But so are armed Fulani militias clashing with farmers over land. And criminal syndicates run kidnapping rackets where ransom is the real motive.

In Kaduna State’s Rijana area, jihadist camps are believed to be holding 850 Christians hostage. Those whose families cannot pay are killed.

When framed only as religious persecution , the world risks missing the deeper drivers: weak governance, economic desperation, corruption, and even climate change.

The role of the state

Advocacy groups like Intersociety have accused elements of Nigeria’s security forces of complicity in kidnappings and killings. Sometimes they look away. Sometimes worse.

That blurs the line between counterinsurgency and persecution. Nigeria’s crisis is not only about insurgents, but also about governance failures and the erosion of trust between citizens and the state.

Borders that protect insurgents, not citizens

On paper, Nigeria has one of Africa’s largest militaries. In reality, insurgents move freely across porous borders with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.

These borders slow down Nigerian troops, who are often tied up in checkpoints and bureaucracy. But for insurgents, rivers, forests, and deserts are open highways. Weapons and fighters flow across with little resistance.

It is a cruel irony: the very lines drawn to define nations protect insurgents while trapping citizens.

ECOWAS delays as villages burn

In August, ECOWAS announced a bold plan: a 260,000-strong joint counter-terrorism force, at a cost of $2.5 billion annually.

The need is urgent. West Africa accounted for 51% of global terrorism deaths in 2024. Over a thousand insurgent groups are believed to be active.

But the plan is stalled. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso pulled out of ECOWAS in January. Without them, intelligence sharing breaks down, and the joint force is weakened.

While ECOWAS delays, villages are attacked, churches fall, and displacement camps fill. Insurgents don’t wait for budget approvals.

Why framing matters

When the world sees only “Christians under fire from jihadists,” the response is militarised: send troops, sell weapons, declare war on terror. That framing sometimes benefits factions within states, particularly armies that want the problem seen purely as jihadist groups carving out a caliphate.

But when reframed, the picture shifts. It shows displaced families trapped in ransom economies, local peacebuilding efforts that rarely get support, and communities whose survival depends on more than soldiers.

Nigeria’s stability matters far beyond its borders. With over 220 million people, its collapse would destabilise all of West Africa. Yet too often Africa is portrayed as a backdrop for violence.

The Global South lens forces new questions: What about the millions of Muslims in Nigeria who reject extremism? What about economic and climate drivers of conflict? And what about international partners who see Africa mainly as a security threat or a source of unwanted migrants?

Reframing the “Islamic State” in Africa

Yes, a new Islamic State is taking shape. Militants control swathes of territory, and their influence is expanding. But just as in Syria and Iraq, religion is only one piece of the puzzle.

Poverty, displacement, and survival are the real drivers fracturing communities. Groups that provide some form of order or resources, often Islamist militants, win allegiance not because of ideology, but because of need.

When reframed, the story is not simply about a religious war. It’s about failed governance, porous borders, delayed regional action, and communities abandoned in the middle.

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World Reframed is produced in London by  Global South  World, part of the Impactum Group. Its editors are Duncan Hooper and Ismail Akwei.

ISSN 2978-4891