A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), has stated that the United States may be positioning itself to establish a military base in Nigeria.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the 7th Annual Lecture organised by the Just Friends Club of Nigeria, Dambazau argued that recent claims by some foreign politicians and religious figures alleging the persecution of Christians in Nigeria could be driven by external strategic interests.
Dambazau, who also served as Minister of Interior, noted that the US previously operated military bases in Niger Republic for over a decade but failed to prevent the escalation of insecurity there.
“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?” he asked.
He added that during the early phase of Donald Trump’s return to office, members of the US Congress accused USAID of financing terrorism 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.
He warns that “unfortunately, they have willing partners in Nigeria.”
Dambazau maintained that terrorism in Nigeria is not targeted at any single religious group, stressing that both Muslims and Christians have suffered attacks.
He cited incidents in the North such as killings in mosques, assassinations of Islamic clerics, and attacks on traditional rulers as evidence that insecurity cuts across religious lines.
He called for national unity in confronting insurgency and cautioned against allowing foreign powers to exploit Nigeria’s internal divisions.