You can’t invade Nigeria without my approval – Tinubu govt warns Trump

The Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Tinubu, Daniel Bwala, has stated that it would be diplomatically unacceptable for the United States to conduct any military operation in Nigeria without the country’s consent.

Speaking in an interview with BBC World Service on Monday, Bwala emphasized that Nigeria is a sovereign nation, and any foreign involvement in its internal security matters must be collaborative and respectful of its territorial integrity.

His comments come in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over alleged persecution of Christians. Trump also threatened to deploy America’s “Department of War” against groups he claimed were targeting Christians in Nigeria.

Bwala clarified that joint operations with Nigeria are acceptable, but unilateral action would breach diplomatic norms.

“If it’s a joint operation with Nigeria, that’s acceptable,” he said.
“But diplomatically, it is wrong to invade a sovereign nation without collaboration—especially one that remains a strategic partner in the fight against insecurity. Unilateral intervention only occurs when there is evidence that a government is complicit in a crisis. That is certainly not the case in Nigeria.”