FOREIGN BOMBS ON NIGERIAN SOIL: WHEN A SOVEREIGN NATION NEEDS OTHERS TO FIGHT ITS WAR
Nigeria’s government has confirmed it cooperated with the U.S. under “structured security cooperation” — including intelligence sharing and strategic coordination that supported the operation. Nigerian officials stated the cooperation was consistent with international law and respect for sovereignty. �
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Multiple news reports also note that U.S. officials said the strikes were carried out with Nigeria’s approval and at the request of Nigerian authoritie
FOREIGN BOMBS ON NIGERIAN SOIL: WHEN A SOVEREIGN NATION NEEDS OTHERS TO FIGHT ITS WAR
By Sights and Sounds of Ndon-Eyo II, Etinan | Front Page | National Security
Nigeria has crossed a line it long insisted would never be crossed.
On Christmas Day, United States forces struck ISIS-linked terrorist targets inside Nigeria, confirming what many Nigerians have feared but officials have avoided admitting: the war has overwhelmed our borders, our institutions, and our deterrence capacity.
Yes, the strikes were coordinated. Yes, Abuja acknowledged “structured security cooperation.”
But no sovereign nation welcomes foreign airstrikes on its territory as triumph. They are a last resort—and an indictment.
THIS IS NOT ASSISTANCE. THIS IS EXPOSURE.
When a foreign power deploys airpower inside another state, three realities are laid bare:
- The threat has outgrown domestic containment
- State security forces are under operational strain
- The territory has become strategically relevant to global terror calculations
Nigeria is no longer just fighting insecurity. It is now a recognised battlefield in the global counter-terror map.
MILITARY ANALYSIS: WHAT THE STRIKES REALLY MEAN
Major-General Chris Olukolade (rtd), former Director of Defence Information, explains that the strikes reflect a shift in threat profile:
“This signals the presence of high-value terrorist targets and a level of organisation that exceeds ordinary banditry. Once airstrikes are introduced, it means intelligence suggests leadership structures, training camps, or transnational coordination Nigeria could not neutralise fast enough on its own.”
Dr. Ona Ekhomu, former Director-General of the Institute for Security Studies (Nigeria), warns that north-west Nigeria has become dangerously permissive:
“Ungoverned spaces, weak local control, and cross-border movement have allowed extremist ideology to fuse with criminal networks. That hybrid threat is what alarms international partners.”
From a tactical standpoint, airpower is used only when:
- Ground operations risk high casualties
- Targets are mobile but traceable
- Delay could enable regional spillover
GEOPOLITICAL ANALYSIS: WHY WASHINGTON ACTED
Dr. Paul Melly, Consulting Fellow at Chatham House (UK) and a leading Africa security analyst, notes that Nigeria’s instability now carries regional consequences:
“Once ISIS affiliates gain a foothold in Nigeria’s North-West, they create a corridor linking Sahel jihadist zones to coastal West Africa. That is a strategic red line for Western security planners.”
Similarly, Dr. J. Peter Pham, former U.S. Special Envoy for the Sahel and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, has long argued that Nigeria is pivotal:
“Nigeria is not just another country battling insurgency. Its size, population, and economic role mean that failure there has cascading effects across Africa and beyond.”
From Washington’s perspective, intervention was not charity—it was pre-emption.
THE DANGEROUS SILENCE IN ABUJA
Despite official acknowledgements, Abuja has provided limited transparency:
- Who formally authorised the strike?
- Which Nigerian agencies provided targeting intelligence?
- What civilian protection mechanisms were activated?
- What precedent has been established?
Colonel Abubakar Umar (rtd), former military governor and respected public intellectual, cautions:
“Security cooperation is not the problem. Lack of public accountability is. When citizens are kept in the dark, even justified actions erode trust.”
Claims that coordination passed through the Office of the National Security Adviser remain officially unclarified—an omission that fuels suspicion rather than confidence.
A NATION AT A STRATEGIC CROSSROADS
This moment forces Nigeria to confront uncomfortable questions:
- Is foreign military involvement becoming normalised?
- Can Nigeria still claim strategic autonomy in its counter-terror war?
- What reforms are being delayed while emergencies are outsourced?
Professor Bola Akinterinwa, former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), frames the dilemma starkly:
“Sovereignty is not lost in one dramatic moment. It is diluted gradually—through silence, dependency, and emergency decisions that become precedents.”
EDITORIAL POSITION
Nigeria does not need foreign bombs to prove terrorism is real.
It needs:
- Transparent national security leadership
- Reclaimed ungoverned spaces
- Civilian trust built on truth, not secrecy
- And armed forces empowered to win decisively
Until then, every foreign strike—however justified—will echo a painful truth: the Nigerian state is still fighting to fully command its own territory.
Sights and Sounds of Ndon-Eyo II, Etinan will continue to interrogate power, expose silence, and insist that national security never becomes an excuse for national secrecy.
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