A former Senate Leader and lawmaker representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to expand its newly intensified joint military cooperation with the United States to Nigeria’s insurgency-ravaged North-East.
Ndume made the call on Saturday while reacting to recent US-led airstrikes reportedly targeting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) cells in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
He noted that the operations should be replicated in areas where Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) still operate with deadly impunity.
The strikes were disclosed on Truth Social by former US President Donald Trump, who claimed the American Department of War executed “numerous precision strikes” against terror cells. Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, later confirmed the operation, insisting it was carried out with Nigeria’s consent, intelligence collaboration and did not breach the country’s sovereignty or target any religious community.
Ndume, a former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, said the collaboration marks a positive shift but warned that failing to extend such efforts to the North-East would leave Nigeria’s most vulnerable communities exposed.
“We welcome this cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in targeting terrorist hideouts,” Ndume said.
“I am calling on both governments to extend it to the North-East, where ISWAP and Boko Haram maintain three major strongholds—Lake Chad, the Mandara Mountains and the Sambisa Forest.”
He also pushed for deeper military collaboration beyond airstrikes, including training, intelligence sharing, logistics, and the deployment of attack helicopters to reinforce Nigerian ground forces struggling to hold reclaimed territories.
While hailing President Tinubu’s move to allocate the largest share of the 2026 Appropriation Bill to defence, Ndume warned that without transparency and accountability, the funds could disappear without meaningful impact.
“This government has done well by prioritising defence in the budget. But spending must be monitored. The money must be used for what it is meant for,” he stated.
Responding to the recent attack at a mosque in Gamboru, Maiduguri — which left several worshippers dead and others injured — Ndume commiserated with affected families. He said the incident shows that the terrorists’ goal is to destabilise communities, not wage a religious war.
“The attack in Gamboru is a stark reminder that terrorists have no regard for religion. In this case, all the victims were Muslims. This clearly shows that the narrative of a Christian genocide does not exist. These terrorists are simply making life unbearable for our people, irrespective of faith.”
