Extend Airstrikes To Terrorist Enclaves In Northeast, Ndume Urges FG

The senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has called on the Federal Government to extend its joint military operations with the United States against terrorist hideouts to the Northeast region of the country.

Ndume made the appeal in a statement issued on Saturday, in which he commended the recent military airstrikes on Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) cells in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

Recall that United States President, Donald Trump, had announced that the US military carried out airstrikes on terrorist targets in Northwest Nigeria.

The development was later confirmed by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who said the operation was conducted with Nigeria’s full cooperation, approval and intelligence support.

Tuggar stressed that the strikes did not violate Nigeria’s sovereignty and were not directed at any religious group.

Reacting, Senator Ndume said extending the joint military action to the Northeast would significantly weaken the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram insurgents operating in the region.

“We welcome this cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in targeting terrorists’ hideouts,”

“I am calling on them to extend it to the Northeast, where ISWAP and Boko Haram have three major black spots — Lake Chad, Mandara Mountains and Sambisa Forest — which serve as their strongholds,” Ndume said.

The lawmaker also urged that the partnership should go beyond airstrikes to include training of ground troops, intelligence sharing, logistics support and the deployment of attack helicopters to back troops on the ground.

While commending President Bola Tinubu for allocating the highest-ever budgetary provision to defence in the 2026 Appropriation Bill, the vocal senator called for accountability and transparency in the utilisation of the funds.

Ndume also expressed condolences to victims of the recent suicide bomb attack at a mosque in Gamboru area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, which claimed five lives and left several others injured.

He said, “The incident in the mosque in Gamboru is a clear indication that terrorists have no regard for religion.

“On the eve of Christmas, all the victims were Muslims. This shows that the terrorists making life unbearable for our people are blind to religion.”