In his New Year's address to the nation, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu noted “decisive” US airstrikes against terrorist targets in northwestern Nigeria and promised that cooperation with international partners against “criminal and terrorist elements determined to destroy our way of life” would continue.
“On December 24, in cooperation with international partners, including the United States, decisive action was taken against terrorist targets in parts of the North West. Since then, our Armed Forces have continued operations against terrorist networks and criminal strongholds in the North-West and North-East,” Tinubu said. said.
“In 2026, our security and intelligence agencies will deepen cooperation with regional and global partners to address all threats to national security. We remain committed to protecting the lives, property and territorial integrity of our country,” he promised.
USA target Islamic State militants in the northwestern Sokoto region carried out airstrikes last Thursday in cooperation with Nigeria's military and intelligence agencies.
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social, he authorized a “powerful and lethal strike against the terrorist scum of ISIS” who “target and viciously murder primarily innocent Christians at levels not seen for years and even centuries.”
“I previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the massacre of Christians, we would have to pay with hell, and this happened tonight,” he said.
Trump later said In an interview with Politico, he said the strikes were originally planned for December 24, but decided to postpone them by one day to present them as a “Christmas gift.”
“They didn't think it would happen, but we hit them hard. Every camp was destroyed,” he said.
In his New Year address, Tinubu said he believed “a decentralized policing system with adequate safeguards, complemented by properly regulated forest guards based on accountability, is critical to effectively addressing the challenges of terrorism, banditry and related security challenges.”
Tinubu meant debate In Nigeria, the question is whether it is better to use a strong, centralized military to defend against attacks by jihadists and bandits, or whether individual states in Nigeria should have their own police and paramilitary forces. Tinubu prefers the latter approach.
Critics of Tinubu make fun of his emphasis on “decentralized security” as an attempt to evade responsibility for government failures as murder, kidnapping and terrorism soared terrifying levels over the past few years. Following a series of mass kidnappings in the fall, a scandal erupted over how many Nigerian police officers were assigned to provide security for government officials and dignitaries, leaving rural Nigeria vulnerable.
Nigeria Defense Headquarters said Damage assessments from U.S. airstrikes were still ongoing Thursday.
“We are still in this process, and I can assure you that once it is completed, we will communicate to the public all our observations. In due course, we will provide you with all the necessary information about the US and Nigerian strikes,” military spokesman Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja said.
Onoja said Nigerian intelligence had confirmed the presence of terrorist forces in areas bombed by the US military, but some of that information had not previously been made public for security reasons.
“Of course, there is evidence that they are in the Sahel. So we can go further given the proximity of the Sahel to Sokoto. Intelligence reports have also confirmed their presence there before the strikes were launched against them,” he said.
“Over time, you will hear about all the activities that we are doing. You know, it is important that while we operate, we maintain confidentiality. In time, I will call you here and update you on everything that we are doing,” he told reporters.
Onoja said it was important to mobilize the civilian population “to be vigilant and provide information to the military and other security agencies so that any issue of insecurity or any movement of these terrorists can be quickly addressed.”
“The truth is that the problem of security or insecurity can only be solved through the cooperation of every member of society. This is called a whole-of-society approach,” he said.
