Nigeria’s Phantom Enemies: Why Terrorists Roam Freely While Citizens Live in Fear

Two weeks ago, Nigerians watched in disbelief as social media was flooded with videos of Boko Haram fighters openly operating on gunboats in the Baga waterways, brutally engaging ISWAP operatives without a single challenge from state forces. It was a chilling reminder that, in many parts of the country, non-state actors move with the confidence and visibility of an organized army.

At the same time, bandits in the North West continue to stroll into our communities “for negotiations,” fully armed, as though they were emissaries of a recognized government. This theatre of impunity stands in sharp contrast to the helplessness imposed on law-abiding citizens, who are expected to remain compliant even as their lives are under siege.

When the Damboa ambush occurred, Nigerians were told by a military spokesperson that the Brigade Commander had “returned to base.” That account has since collapsed under scrutiny. Not only was the explanation untrue, it further eroded public confidence in official communication—a dangerous development in a nation already battling cynicism and mistrust.

Then came yet another tragedy: the abduction of 25 schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State. Another school. Another set of young Nigerians snatched into the shadows—while parents wait, while communities mourn, and while the nation wonders why the same script keeps playing.

These incidents raise an urgent question: Where are the tools we have invested billions to acquire?

Where are the helicopter gunships that once dominated the airwaves of government announcements?
Where are the much-celebrated Super Tucano jets purchased specifically for counter-terrorism operations?
Why are insurgents able to mass, operate, and disperse without significant aerial interdiction?

Modern warfare has evolved. Technology is no longer a luxury—it is a frontline necessity. Drones equipped with thermal imaging can detect fighters moving at night or hiding in difficult terrain. Long-range surveillance systems can track insurgents across forests, dunes, and waterways. Layered intelligence analysis can predict routes, camps, and attack formations.

Nigeria is one of the highest military spenders in sub-Saharan Africa, has received billions in foreign military financing (including the $500 million+ Super Tucano deal), operates a fleet of attack helicopters (Alpha Jets, Mi-35s, AW109s), has access to Chinese Wing Loong drones, Turkish Bayraktar TB2s on order, and yet large swathes of the North-East, North-West, and even parts of the North-Central remain no-go zones where terrorists and bandits operate with near-total freedom of movement.Nigeria has invested in Israeli Orbiter drones, Chinese CH-4s, and a new Ground Maritime Surveillance System, yet insurgents still mass hundreds of gun trucks and motorcycles for days without detection. The reason is not lack of technology—it’s that human intelligence has been compromised by ethnic, religious, and financial loyalties. When local informants are more afraid of the terrorists than of the state, or when some are actually on the payroll of both sides, satellites and thermal cameras become expensive toys

These capabilities are not futuristic dreams. They exist, they are available, and some have already been procured. The puzzle is why they are not being deployed consistently and decisively against enemies that seem to evaporate into thin air after every operation—only to reappear days later to wreak more havoc.

Nigeria’s problem is no longer simply the presence of terrorists and bandits. It is the persistent gap between the nation’s security resources and their actual application. The state has the constitutional monopoly of force, yet non-state actors continue to exercise a practical monopoly of violence in too many regions.

What citizens demand is not endless briefings, excuses, or shifting narratives. They demand results—visible, sustained, coordinated action that shows the government is not only equipped to fight but willing to fight.

The time for half-measures is over. Nigeria must deploy its full range of aerial assets, invest in real-time intelligence, and leverage technology to dominate the battlefield—day or night, land or water. Anything less leaves millions of Nigerians at the mercy of phantom enemies who attack at will and vanish without trace.

The nation is tired of mourning.
So also soldiers who keep dying in ambushes,the communities paying taxes to bandits just to farm or travel and So is every parent who can no longer send a child to school out of fear.
It is time to reclaim every inch of territory—physically, technologically, and psychologically.

Abdul Kezo IkonAllah