Our Reporter, Abuja
A broad coalition of Nigerian civil society organisations has demanded answers from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the country’s security leadership following a reported United States air strike carried out on Nigerian territory on Christmas Day, raising concerns about sovereignty, civilian safety and constitutional governance.
In a press statement issued on Monday under the banner, Nigerian Joint Civil Society Action, the groups expressed what they described as “grave concern and deep alarm” over both the strike itself and what they called the “silence, absence, and abdication of responsibility” by Nigeria’s political and military authorities in its aftermath.
The coalition argued that the incident exposed a dual crisis of leadership and security, accusing President Tinubu of failing in his constitutional role as Commander-in-Chief by allowing a foreign government to manage what it said was fundamentally an internal security challenge.
“By inviting a foreign government to manage an internal security challenge, the President ceded sovereign authority in a manner that undermines Nigeria’s constitutional order,” the statement said. It added that neither the President, the service chiefs nor the leadership of the National Assembly had publicly addressed the issue, leaving the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, to offer explanations.
Citing Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government,” the coalition said any security operation involving foreign forces must be grounded in transparency, civilian protection and democratic oversight. According to the groups, none of those conditions were met.
While acknowledging the importance of international counter-terrorism cooperation, the organisations called for an urgent review of Nigeria’s National Counter Terrorism Strategy and its framework for preventing and countering violent extremism, to determine whether they were followed or whether significant gaps had been exposed.
The coalition said Nigerians had not been informed of the legal basis for authorising the alleged strikes, the rules of engagement, the safeguards for civilians, or whether the National Assembly exercised any oversight. This lack of information, it warned, was fuelling mistrust at a time when public confidence in government was already low.
The groups also raised concerns about reports that debris from expended munitions fell on farmlands in Jabo, Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State, and near a hotel in Offa, Kwara State. They noted that there had been no confirmation that any belligerent targets were actually hit.
Although the Nigerian Air Force inaugurated a Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Board in July 2025, the coalition said no clear civilian harm mitigation protocols had been publicly articulated for the operation. It argued that responsible governance required clear standards for target verification, proportionality, post-strike assessments and accessible avenues for civilian complaints and compensation.
The statement warned that poor handling of the situation could inflame religious and communal tensions in an already fragile national context, stressing that Nigeria’s security challenges must not be framed in ways that stigmatise communities or deepen polarisation.
Among its demands, the coalition called for transparent investigations into any civilian harm, public disclosure of findings, prompt assistance to affected communities and adequate compensation where damage had occurred.
In unusually strong language, the groups concluded that if the President and his security leadership believed they lacked the capacity or will to manage Nigeria’s internal security challenges within constitutional bounds, “then constitutional responsibility and democratic integrity demand that they resign.”
The statement was signed by more than 100 organisations and individuals, including Amnesty International Nigeria, BudgIT, CLEEN Foundation, Yiaga Africa, Media Rights Agenda, Global Rights and several community-based and human rights groups across the country.
