Amid assurances by the military chiefs of improved security and a seeming thaw in cold relations between the United States and Nigeria, citizens have urged President Bola Tinubu to go harder on terrorists by intensifying onslaught on their enclaves.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, yesterday disclosed that the Federal Government is holding talks with the United States over the recent military threat by President Donald Trump.

According to the minister, diplomatic channels are proving effective towards rapprochement in the tense relationship between the two governments. “Channels of communication have been opened. I can confirm that we are talking with them, and I think they are understanding the situation better,” he said.

BUT Senior Economic Adviser at Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has called for a stop to the incessant bloodshed across the country. Apparently supporting the genocide claim, she said more than 90 per cent of the abducted Chibok girls in 2014 were Christians, before some were radicalized.

She stated, “Of what use are ‘leaders’ who do not value the lives of their people? Of what humanity are people in power and our society who defend such failures? Of what future are a people who allow such evil to become normal in their country while they sit around to ‘debate’ about the mass killings of their fellow countrymen, women and children to determine if it is really ‘genocide’?”

Noting that the attitude of debating the loss of human life did not just begin, she cited the 2014 kidnapping of about 300 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State and how Nigerian leaders argued until the matter got out of hand.

Similarly, former Abia State governor and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has backed Trump comments on insecurity in Nigeria, describing them as “nothing but the truth.”

Kalu, who spoke with journalists at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, said Trump’s remarks about religiously-motivated killings in Nigeria should not be dismissed, insisting that both Christians and Muslims have continued to fall victim to extremist violence across the country.

“Let’s be honest — what Donald Trump said is not a lie. Nigerians are being killed, whether they are Christians or Muslims,” he declared. “If they attack in Plateau, the victims are mostly Christians; in Zamfara, they are Muslims. These people are jihadists. They want to destroy Nigeria, and we must call them by their name without pity.

“Before President Trump said anything, I’m sure the American intelligence community had already verified the facts. You can see that the Nigerian Air Force has intensified operations in the last few days, possibly based on intelligence from U.S. authorities,” he added.

He, however, blamed the U.S. and its allies for the proliferation of arms in Africa following the overthrow of leaders such as Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein, saying those actions destabilized the continent.

This is just as the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) strongly disagreed with Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo’s assertion that Christians are killing Christians in the South-East forests, insisting that violent attacks are carried out by armed Fulani militants.

In a statement, Intersociety Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi, said the South-East region is under severe infiltration by Jihadist Fulani militants, occupying an estimated 950 forest locations across about 800 of the region’s 1,940 autonomous communities. He alleged that these militants have terrorized communities, killing, abducting, and displacing residents, destroying property, and attacking churches, often under the guise of religion.

“Over the past four years, at least 14 church parishes in Enugu State alone have been attacked, leaving more than 117 worshippers killed,” Umeagbalasi said. He described incidents, including the January 2022 attack in Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo, where 40 parishioners were ambushed and eight decomposing bodies were recovered and buried inside a church compound.

According to Intersociety, the number of jihadist settlements in the South-East has grown alarmingly from 10 locations in 2018 to about 950 by 2025, with militants extending operations into other Igbo-inhabited parts of Delta, Edo, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, Rivers, and Cross River states.

Meanwhile, a United States Congressman, Bill Huizenga, has criticized the Nigerian government’s handling of ongoing attacks on Christians, urging Washington to impose targeted economic sanctions rather than consider military intervention.

In an exclusive interview with Arise News in Washington, D.C., Huizenga, one of the lawmakers backing President Trump’s move to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, said he was “shocked” by Trump’s recent comments suggesting a possible U.S. invasion, but maintained that allegations of religious persecution must be urgently addressed.

Huizenga warned that Nigeria risks repeating tragedies similar to those witnessed in Rwanda and South Sudan if decisive action is not taken. “We were too late on Rwanda, we were too late on South Sudan. Let’s not be too late again on this one,” he said.

The Congressman highlighted the experiences of victims of attacks carried out by Fulani militants and radicalized Islamist groups, noting that both Christians and moderate Muslims have been targeted. He said he had personally spoken to religious leaders and villagers who described being attacked in their homes and “feeling very much targeted.”

Responding to Trump’s viral claim that Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria, Huizenga clarified that he does not foresee an actual military strike.

“I don’t envision a surprise attack or a military response,” he said. “Economic pressure and sanctions on individuals and organizations would be more effective. Sanctions really cut off the flow of money and travel. We don’t know who is financing these operations, but economic pressure will have a positive impact.”

Huizenga also criticized what he described as the Nigerian government’s dismissive and inadequate response to the violence.

Weighing in on the development, a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has frowned against any potential diplomatic meeting between President Tinubu and President Trump, warning that such engagement could result in the latter verbally and savagely assaulting, insulting and berating the Nigerian leader.

While describing the proposed meeting as baffling, Fani-Kayode argued that Trump’s motives are rooted in a desire to instigate a religious war to facilitate the exploitation of Nigeria’s natural resources, describing the move as a direct threat to Nigeria’s sovereignty.

The former minister stated this while delivering a keynote address during the 2025 Law Week celebration of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Akure Branch, with the theme ‘Nigeria: Quest for Utilitarian Judiciary and Roles for Stakeholders’.

Fani-Kayode, who called for the total annihilation of all terrorist groups in the country, in his address titled ‘Bow to God and Not to Trump,’ kicked against any form of negotiation or reconciliation with the groups, stressing that the violence they are perpetrating is not exclusive to one religious community.

He said, “The solution to the problem is for our political leadership and armed forces to muster the resolve and political will to ruthlessly wipe out the Islamist terrorists and foreign militias once and for all. That is an obligation that falls on the shoulders of President Tinubu alone, and he must honour it.

“The world and the Nigerian people want to see concrete action and the implementation of extraordinarily ruthless, violent and aggressive methods and not just hear long talk, promises of success or long-winded and outworn platitudes from government officials.

SIMILARLY, former Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, has challenged President Tinubu to either decisively use the instruments of state power to end insecurity or resign from office. Adebayo made the call while speaking at the 2025 National Electoral Reform Summit, where he delivered a thought-provoking address on Nigeria’s democratic future and governance failures.

He declared, “To that problem: President Tinubu can use the bullets to kill the terrorists or use the pen to resign.” According to him, Nigeria’s insecurity crisis is not due to incapacity but a deliberate misuse of power for personal enrichment.

“What they are doing now, they are using the security as an excuse to loot all the money,” he said. “The Nigerian armed forces, the way I know them, can protect the whole of West Africa if you let them do it. But they cannot protect their own barracks if you say they should not do it.”

THE Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, on Tuesday assured Nigerians that they can expect improved security nationwide in the coming weeks, following a security briefing he presented to President Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.

Addressing State House Correspondents after the closed-door meeting, the Army Chief said his latest assessment of ongoing military operations, particularly after his recent visit to the Northeast, indicated steady progress and renewed momentum against insurgent and criminal groups.

When asked what Nigerians should anticipate going forward, the army boss responded confidently: “Improved security across the country.” Shaibu explained that his briefing to the President focused largely on the outcome of his operational tour of the Northeast theatre, where he met frontline troops, evaluated operational strategies, and examined emerging security trends. He noted that his discussions with the President also captured updates from other regions, including areas affected by banditry, kidnapping, and communal unrest.

From the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) came the disclosure yesterday that the administration of President Tinubu has acquired military assets worth $ 801 million from the United States within 18 months. IMPI, in a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Omoniyi Akinsiju, stated that the naira equivalent of the acquisition was approximately N1.15 trillion, as part of the administration’s defence modernization drive.

Akinsiju described the acquisition as a bold demonstration of the administration’s commitment to national security and enhancing military capabilities.

According to him, in 2024, Nigeria recorded its highest arms import expenditure in recent times, with more than N520 billion spent, accounting for approximately 67 per cent of the country’s total arms imports between 2020 and 2024.

Akinsiju said a major highlight was the $455 million purchase of 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters from American aerospace giant Bell Textron, to boost counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations.

He further disclosed that in August 2025, Nigeria sealed another $346 million deal for over 1,000 MK-82 bombs and 5,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rounds, along with supporting logistics and training components.

The package, according to him, is aimed at improving the Nigerian military’s precision-strike capability and operational readiness against Boko Haram, ISWAP, and bandit groups. (The Guardian, but headline rejigged)