President Bola Tinubu, through his information and strategy adviser Bayo Onanuga, says Nigeria is already taking decisive steps to confront the security challenges that U.S. officials have cited — a development Onanuga described as being “well ahead of the orchestrated game unfolding in America.”
The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump this week redesignated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” citing allegations of widespread violence against Christians. Trump also threatened to halt U.S. aid and — in a strongly worded message — suggested the United States might take direct action against groups he described as Islamic terrorists operating in the country.
Senator Ted Cruz and several conservative U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly accused Nigerian authorities of failing to protect Christians. In October, Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill that would impose targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials linked to enforcement of Sharia or blasphemy laws, require a U.S. designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern, and keep Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa listed as entities of concern.
Responding on social media, Onanuga said Tinubu had already moved to strengthen the country’s security architecture by reshuffling military leadership and setting firm expectations for the new service chiefs. “President Bola Tinubu was well ahead of the orchestrated game unfolding in America,” he wrote, adding that the president demanded concrete results from the armed forces and warned against excuses.
At a recent meeting with the service chiefs, Tinubu urged a more proactive and technology-driven approach to the nation’s security problems. He called on the military to operate with “patriotic zeal,” be innovative and pre-emptive, and promised full backing from his administration.
The president also highlighted the emergence of new armed groups across several regions — North-Central, North-West and some southern areas — and stressed the need for swift, decisive action. “We must not allow these new threats to fester. We must be decisive and proactive. Let us smash the new snakes right in the head,” he told the service chiefs.
The exchange underscores rising tensions between Abuja and some U.S. officials over how to characterize and respond to violence inside Nigeria, even as the Tinubu administration signals it is refocusing and intensifying the country’s security response.