Headline

War Against Terror: What’s America’s Real Agenda in Nigeria?

Published

6 months ago

December 28, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As Nigerians were smacking from the euphoria that followed the eventual negotiated (or otherwise) release of the remaining 130 pupils of the St Mary’s Private Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State, exactly one month after their kidnap on November 21, 2025, a supposedly Christmas bonfire was happening at a terrorists’ enclave in Sokoto State. This was occasioned and engineered by the Donald Trump-led American government.

It would be recalled that on November 1, 2025, Trump had in a tweet threatened to invade Nigeria with ‘guns-a-blazing’ in retaliation of an alleged Christian genocide ongoing in the country if the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government continues to do nothing about it.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump posted on social media. “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!,” Trump said.

The threat followed an earlier declaration of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) to which Tinubu pushed back, saying that the characterization of Nigeria as a religiously intolerant country does not reflect the national reality.

“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so.

“Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”

But the explanation, and resultant diplomatic visitations of Nigerian delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to Washington, did not assuage the Americans. But with congressional hearings and fact-finding visit to Nigeria, the Americans made their own conclusions.

And so, on the night of Christmas, and while President Tinubu was holidaying in Lagos, faraway from the seat of power, the United States carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria, claiming the group had been targeting Christians in the region.

A message on X by President Trump however, said the operation was at the request of Nigeria’s government, U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. military.

“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The strike was an aftermath of US consistent intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria shortly after the threat in November.

His post went on to say U.S. defence officials had “executed numerous perfect strikes.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command also said on X that the strikes were conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities and killed multiple ISIS militants in Sokoto state.

It is instrumental to note that in all statements released by either Trump or any US agency, the name of the Nigerian president was never mentioned or given credit to as respectfully deserved, sparking conversations on the role of the Nigeria’s Commander-in-Chief in the entire operation, and raising new questions as to what the real agenda of America in Nigeria is.

Again, in his tweet, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth thanked the Nigerian government for its support and co-operation and added: “More to come…Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation.”

Intelligence indicated the camps were being used by foreign ISIS elements working with local affiliates to plan large-scale attacks inside Nigeria. No civilian casualties were reported, although debris fell in two towns in Sokoto and Kwara states.

While Nigerians were expecting Tinubu to address the strike on Nigerian soil by a foreign power, it was a Ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, that signed a statement to the regard informing that the government is aware of the strike, and adding that Nigeria provided intelligence needed for the action.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that precision air strikes hit “terrorist targets” in the country’s northwest, adding that it remains engaged with Washington in “structured security cooperation.”

Earlier, while the Nigerian government has refuted US assertion of Christian genocide, it corrected that the terrorists do not discriminate but target both Muslims and Christians, agreeing however, to work with the US to bolster its forces against militant groups. The resultant effect was the Christmas Day attacks on ISIS facilities and men.

But more worrying is the fact that unlike what is expected, the Nigeria’s president has maintained an undignified silence when “he should be having meetings with his generals”, but rather allowed his aides to run riot with discordant narratives of the situation.

Speaking on behalf of the government, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, noted as follows, in part:

“The precision strike operations were executed between 00:12 hours and 01:30 hours on Friday, 26 December, 2025, following explicit approval by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR,” the statement reads.

“The operation was carried out under established command and control structures, with the full involvement of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and under the supervision of the Honourable Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Chief of Defence Staff.

“The strikes were launched from maritime platforms domiciled in the Gulf of Guinea after extensive intelligence gathering, operational planning, and reconnaissance.

“A total of 16 GPS-guided precision munitions were deployed using MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial platforms, successfully neutralising the targeted ISIS elements attempting to penetrate Nigeria from the Sahel corridor.”

In total contradiction, a presidential spokesperson, Daniel Bwaya, denied intelligence sharing between US and Nigeria, saying he wasn’t sure who thw US strike hit, and asking for time to elapse to decipher what exactly took place. This was even as the Information Minister and Defence headquarters have explained what they know.

The defence headquarters (DHQ) had earlier confirmed that the armed forces of Nigeria, in collaboration with the US, carried out the strike operations.

Samaila Uba, director of defence information, confirmed the joint Nigerian-US operations in a statement.

“The strikes followed credible intelligence and careful operational planning aimed at degrading the operational capabilities of the terrorists while minimising collateral damage,” the defence spokesperson said.

Most Nigerians, including veteran journalists, Dele Momodu, have asked the whereabouts of Tinubu in all that have happened so far.

In a statement he titled, Where’s Our Commander-in-Chief, Momodu insisted that Tinubu should be at the forefront of speaking to the people of Nigeria if actually he is in the know of the US military strikes in the country, noting that leaving the act of war narrations in the hands and voices of his lieutenants, who may know little or nothing does not speak well of a war general, and in war time.

Momodu wrote: “WHERE’S OUR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF?

“In the middle of last night, while rounding up our CHRISTMAS jollification, we received news from far away USA that PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has ordered some military operations on the soil of our country, with the cooperation of the Nigerian government. The message was foggy and brief.

“In normal climes, we would have expected our own President to immediately abort his vacation and return to the Presidential villa in Abuja, surrounded by his war cabinet, and his media team rolling out updates to a usually under-informed nation…

“We implore our Master Strategist not to abdicate responsibility and our sovereignty at this crucial, and historic moment, but to stand beside America, in this fight against terrorism…

“The country is in our prayers…”

Nigerians are worried as to the reasons the Americans should be the ones to announce the attacks carried out on Nigerian soil even when it is assumed that it was a joint operation involving the Minister of Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Chief of Defence Staff.

According to Segun Sowunmi, a member of the ruling party and Tinubu loyalist, while speaking during a Channels Television programme on Sunday, it doesn’t matter who announced the strikes so long as it happened. He added that the announcement is better with the Americans since it was carried out by them, and they have better knowledge of the specifics.

THE ISREALI ANGLE AND INVOLVEMENT

One of the most dangerous angles of the American airstrikes in Nigeria is the direct or remote involvement of the Israeli government.

It could be recalled, though no one seems to be connecting the dots, that barely 24 hours before the American airstrikes, Jerusalem, a hundred percent allied of Washington has lean heavily on the America’s side in its condemnation of the ‘Christian genocide’ in Nigeria.

The Isreali Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a Christmas message message, has condemned the alleged genocide, and issued a stern warning to Islamic cells and jihadists perpetrating terrorism across the world, especially in Nigeria, saying it must stop.

“The persecution of Christians or members of any religion cannot and must not be tolerated, and Muslim militant displacement and attacks against Christians in Nigeria, that too must end, and it must end now,” Netanyahu warned.

The Israeli leader, who is hell bent on exterminating Hamas, criticised the global persecution of Christians, citing the Middle Eastern countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.

It is worthy of note that Netanyahu’s statement makes Israel the first and only country to publicly support the United States Presidnet Doanld Trump on his claim of a “Christian persecution” in Nigeria.

So why Netanyahu made the statement, and it was followed by military response remains shrouded in mystery, making analysts wondered the relationship between Netanyahu’s statement and Trump’s immediately military response. Both countries have e collaborated heavily in the fight against Hamas in Palestine and other areas of mutual interest.

Observers and analysts have said that possible involvement of the Israeli government could spell a different narration to the entire conversation, and sponsor in detail to quest to discover Trump and America’s real interest in Nigeria beyond helping the country to battle its multiple armed groups, ‘including at least two affiliated with IS, an offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the less-known Lakurawa group prominent in the northwestern states, where the gangs use large swathes of forests as hideouts’.

And now, Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, on Sunday departed the country for ‘Europe’.

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

20 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.