Former Kaduna Central senator Shehu Sani has welcomed recent airstrikes against terrorist targets in Northwest Nigeria, describing them as a “conscionable action”, while cautioning against excessive reliance on foreign military intervention.
The strikes, carried out in coordination with United States forces, were confirmed by Defence Headquarters (DHQ) and followed remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said his administration had executed deadly operations against Islamic State elements targeting civilians, particularly Christians.
“If actually, the military strikes against the terrorists’ targets in the northwestern part of Nigeria were a joint operation with the ‘Nigerian Authorities’, as posted by the US AFRICOM on their verified X handle, then it’s a conscionable action,” Sani said in a statement shared on his verified X handle.
He described terrorist groups operating in Nigeria as “cancerous cells” and emphasised that their attacks do not target a single religious group. “The narrative that the evil terrorists only target one faith remains absolutely false and misleading,” he added.
While acknowledging the contribution of US forces, Sani stressed that lasting security must ultimately come from within Nigeria.
“Again, the ultimate security and peace in our country lies with ourselves and not with the US or any foreign power. They can complementarily or unilaterally strike, but they can’t eternally fight our battles,” he said.
The DHQ confirmed that the operation was executed with approval from federal authorities and formed part of structured cooperation with strategic international partners to address terrorism and violent extremism. Director of
Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Samaila Uba, said the precision strikes targeted foreign ISIS-linked elements while minimising collateral damage.
Trump had announced the operations on his Truth Social platform, linking them to attacks on Christians and warning that further strikes would follow if violence persisted.
“I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” he wrote, adding that the strikes were executed by the “Department of War” with precision.
The airstrikes come amid continued security incidents across Nigeria, including a deadly bombing at a mosque in Maiduguri, Borno State.
