By Mike Odeh James and Izhi Bitrus Adamu
ABUJA—A U.S.-Nigeria raid seized the largest terrorist intelligence trove since 9/11 — but Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) still butcher Christian villages across Nigeria’s undefended Middle Belt.
The joint counterterrorism operation in the Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest region eliminated 199 jihadists including senior commanders, according to U.S. Counterterrorism Director Dr. Sebastian Gorka — a figure Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters places at 175. Whatever the final count, American officials agree on one superlative: the raid recovered the biggest cache of terrorist electronic intelligence captured since the September 11 attacks.
“An unprecedented volume” of laptops, hard drives, mobile phones and Baofeng radios was hauled from the battlefield — so much hardware that an additional aircraft was needed to fly it out of theater, U.S. and Nigerian officials said. White House and Defense officials say the trove will prove decisive in mapping terrorist financing, recruitment pipelines and communications networks.
A windfall analysts call priceless
Security analysts describe the digital seizure as a generational windfall. Observers tracking Tenax Aerospace surveillance flights say the data will be mined to trace Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and ISIS funding streams, encrypted communications, and networks stretching far beyond the Lake Chad basin.
“It would demonstrate to them that the American-Nigerian operation has really picked up,” Nigerian security analyst and international human rights lawyer Dr. Bulama Bukarti told ABC News, noting that Nigerian forces lack the capacity to confront violent extremist groups alone in the densely forested Lake Chad region. Bukarti cautioned, however, that strikes alone cannot resolve Nigeria’s security crisis without a broader strategy addressing local capacity and rural grievances.
American boots, Northeast focus
The raid crowned months of escalating cooperation. Roughly 100 American soldiers deployed to northeast Nigeria in February 2026 on a training and intelligence-sharing mission, following December 2025 U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State positions coordinated with the Nigerian military. The partnership has already claimed ISWAP’s most senior scalp: commander Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, killed in a joint Lake Chad Basin operation in May.
But the Middle Belt still bleeds
While American and Nigerian firepower pounds ISWAP in the Northeast, the deadliest threat to Nigerian Christians in 2026 comes from Fulani Terrorists in the Middle Belt, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported in May. USCIRF estimates 30,000 armed Fulani militants operate in bands of 10 to 1,000 — the highest death toll of any armed group over the past year.
“When a government rewards perpetrators and ignores victims, it is making a political choice,” David Onyilokwu Idah, Director of the International Human Rights Commission in Abuja, previously told TruthNigeria — a warning that rings hollow comfort for Middle Belt villagers who bury their dead while attackers walk free.
Why Washington looks away
“The reason why the Fulani have not been designated is due to their position in the pecking order,” Scott Morgan, a Washington D.C.-based security consultant, told TruthNigeria earlier. “Groups that are aligned with either Al-Qaida or IS always dominate the designations due to legislation that allows for both military and financial measures to be taken against them.”
Morgan added that field data shared with the U.S. Embassy has met polite indifference. “The response has been ‘Thank You Very Much’ — but delivered in such a way to state this isn’t what they were looking for,” he said, urging the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to designate the Fulani militias an Entity of Particular Concern (EPC) as a step in the right direction.
Plateau and Benue: the killing continues
At least 19 Christians died in separate Plateau attacks within 24 hours in May. On May 8, Fulani Terrorists stormed Ngbra-Zongo village in Bassa County after midnight, killing 11 Christians — including community leader Sunday Hwie, 60; Eunice Samuel, 25, and Laraba Sunday, 29, both pregnant; and 3-year-old Festus Sunday. Eight more Christians were killed across Barkin Ladi County less than a day later.
“An ugly, cowardly and unacceptable act of violence,” Governor Hyacinth Alia said of the July 1 pre-dawn assault on Sai community in Katsina-Ala County, Benue State, where Fulani Terrorists killed at least 15 Christians, wounded more than 10, and torched homes as families fled into the bush.
London presses; Washington draws down
Lord David Alton of Liverpool tabled parliamentary question HL909 on June 15, pressing Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Fulani militia atrocities and the Rijana Forest hostage camps exposed by TruthNigeria.
Meanwhile, following the camp eliminations and electronics seizure, U.S. officials announced a troop drawdown, transitioning away from direct technical assistance.
Why this matters
Open Doors 2026 reported 3,490 of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith were Nigerians.
The Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa attributes nearly 24,000 civilian deaths to Fulani militants over its four-year reporting period.
The Northeast now has America’s attention. The Middle Belt is still waiting.
Mike Odeh James is an award-winning conflict reporter; Izhi Bitrus Adamu is a conflict reporter. They write for TruthNigeria.
