Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Tinubu, has stated that former U.S. President Donald Trump cannot authorize any military operation in Nigeria without President Tinubu’s approval.
Speaking in an interview with BBC World Service on Monday, Bwala emphasized that Nigeria remains a sovereign nation, and any form of foreign intervention in its internal security affairs must be conducted in collaboration with the Nigerian government.
Bwala’s comments followed Trump’s recent remarks designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over alleged attacks on Christians. The former U.S. leader also threatened to deploy America’s “Department of War” against terrorist groups he claimed were targeting Christians in Nigeria.
Reacting to the comments, Bwala cautioned against any unilateral action by the U.S., stressing that diplomatic and strategic collaboration are the only acceptable approaches.
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“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.”
He further clarified that unilateral foreign intervention in any country’s affairs typically occurs only when there is clear evidence that a government is complicit in ongoing crises, adding that such is not the case with Nigeria.
“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 stated.