Ndume Urges Nigeria, US to Expand Joint Military Operations to North-East

Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has called on the Federal Government to extend its joint military operations with the United States against terrorist hideouts to Nigeria’s North-East region.

Ndume made the appeal on Saturday in a statement where he commended the recent military strikes carried out on Friday against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) cells in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The United States President, Donald Trump, who announced the attacks on his Truth Social platform, disclosed that the Department of War conducted several “precise and successful” strikes. Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, later confirmed the development, stating that the U.S. military operations were executed with Nigeria’s full cooperation, approval and intelligence support. He emphasized that the strikes did not violate Nigeria’s sovereignty and were not directed at any religious group.

The former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army said extending the joint operations to the North-East would significantly weaken the activities of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram in the region.
“We welcome this cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in targeting terrorist hideouts,” Ndume said. “I am calling on both countries to extend it to the North-East, where ISWAP and Boko Haram maintain three known strongholds — Lake Chad, the Mandara Mountains and the Sambisa Forest.”
He further suggested that the military collaboration should include training, intelligence sharing and logistics for ground troops, as well as support through attack helicopters.
Ndume also praised President Bola Tinubu for allocating the highest-ever funding to defence in the proposed 2026 budget, but stressed the need for accountability and transparency in the utilization of the funds.
Reacting to the recent suicide bomb attack at a mosque in Gamboru, Maiduguri, Borno State, which claimed five lives and left many others injured, the former Senate Chief Whip expressed condolences to the victims and bereaved families.
“I sympathize with the victims of the bomb blast in Borno State, where many people were killed and injured. The incident at the mosque in Gamboru clearly shows that terrorists have no regard for religion,” he said. “In this case, which occurred on the eve of Christmas, all the victims were Muslims. This disproves the narrative of religious targeting. The terrorists making life unbearable for our people are blind to religion.”