Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has strongly criticised reports alleging that the United States carried out military strikes on Nigerian soil on Christmas Day, describing the action as a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty and a failure of leadership.
In a statement posted on his verified social media account on Thursday, Sowore said he had read reports indicating that the attacks were announced by former U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and were purportedly aimed at terrorist groups operating within Nigeria.
Sowore expressed scepticism over the Federal Government’s claim that it was aware of the operation and that the strikes were conducted as part of a joint effort involving unnamed “international partners.”
According to him, the strikes were carried out without what he described as the “genuine authority or informed consent” of the Nigerian government under President Bola Tinubu.
“My position remains unchanged,” Sowore said, adding that the nature of the reported strike on a village in Sokoto State suggested a lack of understanding or concern for Nigeria and its citizens by the U.S. leadership under which the operation allegedly occurred.
He further lamented what he described as Nigeria’s inability to assert and protect its sovereignty, despite being Africa’s most populous nation.
“It is deeply troubling that Nigeria lacks the capable and sovereign leadership required to protect its people and its territory,” he said, arguing that the country had been reduced to a passive observer while its sovereignty was allegedly violated.
Sowore concluded by reiterating his call for what he termed “true, tested, and informed leadership,” insisting that only such leadership could effectively safeguard Nigerians, rather than what he described as external actors operating from Washington, D.C.
