TRUMP looking for a way to establish a military base in Nigeria - Former army chief

Wednesday, November 5, 2025 - A former Chief of Army Staff and former Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), on Tuesday, suggested that the United States may be positioning itself to establish a military base in Nigeria.

Dambazau, who was COAS between 2008 and 2010, stated this in Abuja while speaking at an event organised by the Just Friends Club of Nigeria.

According to him, recent narratives by some foreign actors, including United States politicians and religious leaders, about the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria may be linked to external interests.

He cited claims pushed by some US congressmen and supported by some Catholic clergymen alleging a “Christian genocide” in the country.

US President Donald Trump warned he may deploy American forces to Nigeria unless the alleged killings of Christians cease.

In a Saturday post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he had ordered the “Department of War” to prepare for “possible action” if the violence continued.

He also threatened to suspend all US aid to Nigeria should President Bola Tinubu’s administration fail to halt the alleged persecution.

Dambazau questioned the intent, saying the United States previously operated military bases in the Niger Republic for more than a decade without preventing insecurity in the region.

He said, “Religious tensions have been amplified by both domestic and foreign actors, sometimes resulting in the mischaracterisation of security incidents as targeting specific faith groups, despite their widespread impact.

“An example is the recent propaganda, amplified by some US congressmen and supported by some Catholic clergymen in Nigeria, that there is Christian genocide. Donald Trump, the US President, has declared Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ and that he has given the US Department of War to prepare for possible operations to defend Nigerian Christians. Whatever that means, we shall see in the coming weeks or months.”

He argued that insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria are part of broader regional insecurity, particularly in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, and not targeted at a single religious group.

According to him, both Muslims and Christians have been victims of attacks.

“Most of these casualties are the aged, women and children, whose lives do not seem to matter if they are not Christians. In the more than ten years of US presence in Niger, where it maintained two military bases, what did the US do to prevent the growth of security challenges?

“It is also on record that at the initial second coming of the Trump administration, US congressmen accused USAID of terrorism financing in Africa. I think the US is looking for an opportunity to establish an alternative base in Nigeria, a country known to protect only its interests by any means possible, including the use of force.

“Unfortunately, they have willing partners in Nigeria. It is clear that there is a lack of national cohesion in facing a common enemy to address terrorism and criminal violence in the country.”

He listed past attacks in the North — including the killing of worshippers in mosques, assassinations of Islamic clerics and attacks on traditional rulers — to argue that terrorism in Nigeria affects people of all faiths.

The former minister further said Nigeria lacks adequate capacity to protect communities from attacks, citing the March 2022 Abuja–Kaduna train attack and the July 2022 Kuje prison attack as examples of security failures.

He added that in some states, communities have negotiated with bandits for protection.

Dambazau urged national cohesion in responding to insecurity and warned against allowing external actors to exploit Nigeria’s internal divisions.

He said, “It is evident that Nigeria lacks the capacity to protect people and property against criminal attacks, especially in rural communities. The lack of capacity to protect is both in the ability to monitor threats in real time and the ability to respond to emergencies. This challenge was demonstrated in the terrorist attack on the Abuja–Kaduna train and kidnapping of passengers on March 28, 2022, and the Kuje prison attack only four months later on July 5, 2022.

“Whenever IPOB gives a sit-at-home order, for example, every resident in the southeast obeys, showing the extent of their influence over the people of the region. People are afraid to disobey such orders, even though they are illegal, because the government cannot protect them.

“Likewise, Boko Haram and the bandits operating in the northeast and northwest, respectively, invade rural communities at will and impose taxes on the people. Recently, communities in Zamfara and Katsina decided to sign agreements with the bandits to avoid their attacks, and by implication, the people are now relying on the bandits for protection.”

Diplomatic tensions resurfaced last year over claims that foreign powers were seeking military basing rights in Nigeria.

In December 2024, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters publicly denied claims that the French military was planning to establish a military base in the country.

The Federal Government also denied approving any French military base in Nigeria.