Former senator Shehu Sani has described the reported military airstrikes on terrorist targets in North West Nigeria as a “conscionable action,” while stressing that Nigeria must ultimately take responsibility for its own security.
Sani reacted in a statement shared via his verified X handle on Friday, following comments by United States President, Donald Trump, who said on Thursday that US forces had carried out deadly strikes against Islamic State terrorists in Northwestern Nigeria.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a separate social media post, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington acted with Nigeria’s cooperation.
“Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” Hegseth wrote, adding that the Department of War was “always ready.”
Reacting, Sani said, “If actually, the military strikes against the terrorists’ targets in the North Western 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.”
He said terrorist groups operating in parts of the country posed a grave threat to national stability, describing them as “cancerous cells.”
