A resident of Jabo town in Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State, Musa Kiliya, has condemned reports alleging that the community was an ISIS stronghold, describing the claims as false and dangerous.
In a post shared on social media on Thursday, Kiliya said the people reportedly targeted were innocent villagers and not members of any terrorist group.
“These are innocent people who were targeted. The U.A. is celebrating nothing,” he wrote.
Kiliya stressed that Jabo has no history or record of ISIS activity, contrary to reports that described the area as an ISIS base and framed the incident as a “Christian genocide.”
“Jabo is a Muslim community with fewer than 20 Christians, but it was still labelled as an ISIS base,” he said.
According to him, the major security challenge facing the community is banditry, not terrorism. He noted that residents, mostly Muslims, have been victims of kidnappings carried out by bandits operating in the area.
“The people of Jabo face banditry, which has led to the kidnapping of Muslims in that community, yet they referred to the victims as Christians,” Kiliya added.
While expressing gratitude that no lives were lost in the reported incident, he called on the government to take decisive action against actual criminal elements rather than innocent civilians.
“We thank God that no lives were lost, but we are calling on the government to take action. These terrorists are known and their hideouts are known, so they should be attacked, not innocent villagers,” he said.
The comments come amid heightened public debate and scrutiny over recent security operations and claims surrounding terrorist activity in parts of northwestern Nigeria.
