The recent US air strikes in north-western Nigeria signal more than a tactical military action against jihadist groups; they reveal how global counter-terrorism has become entangled with political messaging. Announced by US President Donald Trump as a decisive blow against the Islamic State, the operation was presented in stark moral terms, framed as a response to the killing of innocent Christians.

Yet the reality on the ground in Nigeria is far more complex than suggested by such rhetoric. Nigeria’s security crisis has never been a single-story conflict. Jihadist groups have undoubtedly inflicted horrific violence, but they operate within a broader ecosystem of instability that includes criminal banditry, local militias, and long-running disputes over land and resources. Victims come from every religious and ethnic background. By emphasising one community’s suffering over others, external narratives risk distorting both the causes of violence and the nature of its victims.........

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