Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has raised concerns over what he described as a significant shift in Nigeria’s official narrative on insecurity in the North-West, following recent United States airstrikes on terrorist targets in the region.
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Odinkalu noted that Nigeria has historically avoided publicly acknowledging the presence of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the North-West, instead describing violent groups operating in the area as “bandits,” a term he said suggested disorganised criminal outlaws rather than ideologically driven terrorist cells.
According to him, the situation has now changed with the United States openly announcing that it struck ISIS targets in North-West Nigeria, while the Nigerian government reportedly confirmed that it provided intelligence and cooperated with the U.S. in carrying out the operation.
“Something has changed,” Odinkalu said, stressing that such cooperation implies official recognition that the groups operating in the North-West are neither random nor disorganised, but structured and ideologically motivated terrorist organisations.
He argued that the development carries far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s security policy and public accountability, particularly regarding the government’s previous characterisation of the violence in the region.
Odinkalu further questioned when the Federal Government first became aware that ISIS was operating in the North-West and what concrete actions were taken at the time to address the threat.
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