The presidency has said that the United States of America cannot invade Nigeria’s territory without explicit authorisation from President Bola Tinubu.
This disclosure by the presidency follows the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern by the US President Donald Trump over the alleged killing of Nigerians by Islamic terrorists across the North.
Trump had also warned that, failure by the Nigerian government to swing into action and end the killings, would force the US through its Department of War to invade Africa’s most populous nation.
However, in a fresh reaction to Trump’s threat, Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Tinubu said the plan by the US to invade Nigeria to fight the Islamic terrorists will not be tolerated.
Bwala, who spoke during an interview with the BBC said that any invasion by the US military in Nigeria over the alleged killings would be diplomatically unacceptable.
He added that Nigeria is a sovereign nation, and the US government under Trump’s administration would need the consent of the Federal Government of Nigeria, as any military operation must be a collaborative effort.
Also denying claims of the alleged killing of Christians in Nigeria, the presidential aide commended Trump and the US government for their support for the nation’s effort to end insurgency.
“We are grateful to President Donald Trump because during his first term, he approved arms sales that strengthened Nigeria’s fight against insurgency.
“In his second term, he has again shown interest in supporting the fight against Boko Haram, which we welcome—but such efforts must rely on credible intelligence, not isolated reports or social media narratives.
“If it’s a joint operation with Nigeria, that’s acceptable. 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 happens when there is evidence that a government is complicit in a crisis. That is certainly not the case in Nigeria,” Bwala said.