Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, has called on President Bola Tinubu to widen Nigeria’s counterterrorism collaboration with the United States to cover the country’s North-east region, where insurgent groups continue to maintain entrenched bases.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Ndume commended the recent joint Nigeria–United States military action against terrorist enclaves in the North-west but argued that similar operations are urgently needed in the North-east, which he described as the epicentre of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) activities.
According to the senator, long-established insurgent hideouts around the Lake Chad basin, the Mandara Mountains and the Sambisa forest remain critical threats to national security and should be prioritised for coordinated aerial and ground operations.
Ndume said extending the partnership would significantly degrade terrorist capabilities and improve safety for communities across Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states.
The call follows recent US-Nigeria air operations in parts of Sokoto State, where intelligence-driven strikes were carried out against Islamic State-linked fighters near the Nigeria–Niger border. The operation was executed with the approval of the Nigerian government and involved close coordination between the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the United States Africa Command.
Beyond airstrikes, Ndume urged the federal government to deepen military cooperation with Washington through advanced training, intelligence support, logistics assistance and aerial backing for Nigerian ground forces, particularly the deployment of attack helicopters.
Reacting to a recent suicide bombing in Maiduguri that claimed several lives, the senator expressed sympathy with victims and their families, describing the attack as further evidence that insurgent violence targets civilians indiscriminately, regardless of religion.
He stressed that sustained international collaboration, combined with local intelligence and military resolve, remains critical to restoring peace and stability in Nigeria’s most affected regions.
