President Donald Trump said the strike targeted ISIS fighters responsible for killing Christians. U.S. Africa Command confirmed the operation was conducted at Nigeria\u2019s request. But the political fallout inside Nigeria has been immediate and unusually polarized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after the announcement, Nigerian users reported that access to the AFRICOM website and the CNN page carrying the initial report was temporarily blocked. Authorities have not commented, leaving unclear whether the disruption was intentional or technical. The blackout fueled speculation among critics who already view foreign military involvement as politically sensitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, one of Nigeria\u2019s most influential clerics, condemned the strike as \u201ca profound disrespect to our sovereignty,\u201d urging President Bola Tinubu to suspend military cooperation with Washington. \u201cNigeria cannot outsource its security to foreign powers,\u201d he said. \u201cThis sets a dangerous precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But others welcomed the operation, arguing that Nigeria\u2019s security crisis requires decisive action from both domestic and international partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attorney Asukwo Mendie Archibong<\/strong>, a U.S.-based lawyer and former presidential candidate, praised the strike and urged Abuja to intensify its own counterterrorism efforts. \u201cThe terrorists targeting Nigerians must be confronted without hesitation,\u201d Archibong said. \u201cChristians and all Nigerians deserve full protection from their government. This is not the time for political hesitation \u2014 it is a time for action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Security analysts say the split reflects deeper regional anxieties. Others argue the backlash is more political than principled. The debate intensified after Nigeria deployed fighter jets and ground forces into Benin Republic earlier this month to help foil a coup attempt, striking targets in Cotonou at the request of Beninese authorities. The operation, conducted under ECOWAS protocols, cast Nigeria as a regional security guarantor \u2014 even as it criticized foreign strikes on its own soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat contradiction is impossible to ignore,\u201d said Lagos\u2011based international relations scholar Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye. \u201cNigeria is asserting sovereignty at home while projecting power abroad. It wants to be both a protected state and a regional hegemon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The controversy has also revived older political wounds. Former President Muhammadu Buhari\u2019s 2013 remark \u2014 \u201can attack on Boko Haram is an attack on the North\u201d<\/em> \u2014 resurfaced across social media, shaping perceptions of the U.S. strike among northern communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the uproar, some analysts say cooperation with Washington is strategically necessary. So far, no militant group has issued a statement acknowledging the strike, and no calls for retaliation have been reported. International reaction has been muted, with no immediate comments from ECOWAS, the African Union, or Western governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For now, the episode underscores the delicate balance Nigeria must navigate as it deepens security ties with the United States while asserting itself as a regional power. If you want, I can also produce:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just tell me what direction you want to expand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “U.S. Strike in Nigeria a welcome relief to Christians and all other Nigerians suffering from the terrorists attacks” – Archibong former Presidential Candidate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,3,1138],"tags":[157,473,1625,405,175,146,372,3049,368,1868],"class_list":["post-25710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-naija-news","category-politics","tag-abuja","tag-donald-trump","tag-epstein-files","tag-islamic-terrorists","tag-lagos","tag-nigeria","tag-regina-daniels","tag-sokoto","tag-sokoto-state","tag-terrorists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-26-at-01-48-57-US-launches-powerful-strikes-against-Islamic-State-in-Nigeria-says-Trump.png?fit=722%2C406&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25710"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25712,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25710\/revisions\/25712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"President](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot_20251226-023515.jpg?resize=696%2C397\")
\u201cForeign strikes on Nigerian soil, even when invited, hit a raw nerve,\u201d said Kaduna\u2011based political analyst Amina Yusuf. \u201cThere is a long history of suspicion toward Western military involvement, especially in the North.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome of the loudest critics would not object if the same strike were carried out by a non\u2011Western partner,\u201d said Abuja security researcher Kabiru Adedeji. \u201cThis is less about sovereignty and more about who is holding the trigger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNigeria\u2019s military is overstretched,\u201d said retired Air Commodore John Agbaje. \u201cIf the U.S. can deliver precision strikes on ISIS cells that Nigeria struggles to reach, that\u2019s a practical partnership, not a surrender of sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWest Africa is entering a new era,\u201d said analyst Amina Yusuf. \u201cNigeria is trying to lead, the U.S. is trying to stabilize, and the public is trying to understand where sovereignty begins and ends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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