By: Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.
The Boxing Day hit on Sokoto state in the Northwest of Nigeria by the United States forces raises a number of problems, the main one being sovereignty. However, the concept of sovereignty has not been static. Under international law, it is agreed that sovereignty is not an abstract concept. In the main, it is the responsibility of each state to protect its citizens. It is obvious that the Nigerian State, given leadership deficit, has been found wanting on the discharge of its sovereign responsibility in many parts of Nigeria. Terrorists of whatever nomenclature have been killing Nigerians at will.
It is allowed under international law for a State that is unable to undertake its responsibility to protect its citizens to seek assistance on many fronts, including training and collaboration in armed intervention. In actual fact, States agreed under soft international law in 2005 at the UN General Assembly, and under the Constitutive Act of the African Union before then, that when a State is unable or unwilling to protect its citizens, other States or a coalition of the willing can intervene and protect civilians even if the State with the responsibility objects. Thus, many Nigerians will agree that the recent pressures from the US President and the US government on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to protect Nigerian citizens is a welcomed development.
In the instance of what happened in Nigeria overnight of December 25-26, 2025, the Nigerian Foreign Minister has clarified that Nigeria was in collaboration especially with the US in seeking to degrade the capacity of Terrorists to continue making life impossible for civilians. The claim is that intelligence showed imminent gathering to attack Nigerians during the Christmas and New Year festivities. With time, we may know more about this claim. We may also have video footage and knowledge of collateral damage that do accompany situations of this sort. However, the fact is that even those whom their sympathisers euphemistically call bandits, but the Nigerian government recently properly designated all as Terrorists, have been claiming Nigerian lives as well as undermining the power of the Nigerian State to protect civilians.
Personally, I will not worry about whether the Terrorists who were hit overnight of Boxing Day were Lakurawa, ISIL, ISWAP, or in what State they were hit, etc. What’s important is the need to have a rebuilding towards the respect for the right to life in Nigeria. By the same token, the fact the Terrorists have been hitting Christians, Muslims, and other faiths in Nigeria has been established. I will not waste time over whether the US government places emphasis on Christians. Any intervention to degrade the capacity of Terrorists will save the lives of Nigerians irrespective of faith.
My emphasis is on degrading as opposed to eradicating Terrorism in Nigeria. I am not exactly sure if Bombs from the air alone will eradicate Terrorism. But it could also play its role. The government of President Tinubu has the challenge of demonstrating that it is very serious in fighting all criminal groups involved in mass killings of Nigerians, including all the Terrorists and those financing them. Many Nigerians are losing trust and confidence in the ability and political will of the Nigerian government to degrade terrorism. This is not the best time to dwell on so much technicalities and theories. What is needed now is adequate political will, urgency and swiftness in responding with actions that will degrade, de-motivate and dis-arm the many terrorists groups, a combined on as needed application of kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to stamp out impunity and put financiers of terrorism away so that the value of life can once again be respected in Nigeria.
All means necessary are required to radically reduce terrorism and boost security in Nigeria.
President Donald Trump is not the problem for Nigeria. Whatever may be his motivation and the framing, we should appreciate his stated desire to degrade Terrorists. Nigerian rulers since military rule have been putting sovereignty at bay as all sorts of Terrorists reduced the power of the Nigerian State to protect helpless civilians, as Nigerian governments only focused on looting national patrimony a.k.a., corruption. The higher the level of corruption, the less the level of the rule of law, all of which results in insecurities of all sorts.
Depending on how best the Nigerian government exhibits leadership and seriousness, and less of propaganda, the problem may grow bigger. Supporters of terrorism (funders/investors and sympathizers for various reasons) are expected to fight back as they have been doing for almost two decades as they use the insecurities to undermine the Nigerian State and cart away national patrimony in many parts of Nigeria.