Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (Rtd), has disclosed that the primary reason for the airstrike in Sokoto by the United States military was to halt the growing threat posed by Lakurawa.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise Television on Thursday, Musa stated that the authorities are determined to neutralise the group before it escalates into a major insurgency.
The former defence chief noted that while security forces are still battling established threats, it is crucial to confront new ones early to prevent them from becoming more entrenched.
Addressing questions on whether the United States would carry out further airstrikes in Nigeria, Musa said there was no such plan, stressing that Nigeria and the US are instead cooperating on intelligence sharing.
According to him, the collaboration focuses largely on access to advanced satellite surveillance that provides real-time intelligence, enabling Nigerian forces to carry out precision strikes. He added that the US would only provide support where threats are beyond Nigeria’s operational reach.
He said: “Lakurawa is a new threat that’s evolving. While we’re working on the major ones. Let’s check out those new ones before they develop, before they become bigger.
“I want Nigerians to understand that better things are coming away ahead, those big ones, big things are coming that way. Do you.”
When asked if he expects the Americans to attack again and if that is part of the discussion that’s going on between Nigeria and the United States.
He replied, “No, we’re looking at everything holistically. And what we did, mostly from them, is for them to give us, you know, they have this satellite system that will give you real time info as to what’s going on. And then the idea is, whatever it is we see, we will be able to strike. If it is beyond our reach, they will assist us.
“The mistake people make is that people think Lakurawa is a small group. It’s not small. They are as potent as Boko Haram, and their spread is getting fast.
“So the idea was to stop them from spreading, yeah, so that it doesn’t spread the place.”