Senator Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th National Assembly, has thrown his weight behind Nigeria’s First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, for supporting the United States’ airstrikes against terrorists operating in Sokoto State.
Senator Sani, who spoke via his verified X handle on Tuesday, described the backlash against the First Lady as misplaced, insisting that the December 2025 air operations were justified given the scale of violence attributed to armed groups in the North-West.
The former lawmaker characterised the strikes as a positive step in the fight against insecurity and urged Nigerian authorities to intensify similar military actions.
However, he questioned the criticism directed at Mrs Tinubu, arguing that her comments aligned with the realities of the security situation
“The December air strikes against bandits and terrorists in the North were a welcome development. More strikes by our Air Force are needed against those mass murderers, rapists and kidnappers.
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“What Senator Remi said is right. I don’t know why some people are attacking her in view of the heinous atrocities of those terrorists,” he said.
New Telegraph recalls that the airstrikes, carried out on December 25, 2025, reportedly involved U.S. forces working alongside Nigerian authorities to target suspected Islamic State militants in parts of Sokoto State close to the Niger Republic border.
At the time, former U.S. President Donald Trump described the operation as a “Christmas present,” claiming it significantly weakened militant networks responsible for attacks on Christian communities. The U.S. Africa Command confirmed that several militants were killed, although other reports suggested the strikes may have hit abandoned camps or unoccupied farmland.
The First Lady had publicly welcomed the operation during a recent visit to Washington, D.C.
In an interview with Fox News, she described the U.S. intervention as a “blessing” and expressed optimism about expanding security cooperation between the two countries.
“The intervention of the U.S. was quite a welcome development. Nigeria looks forward to greater collaboration with the United States on security issues, and we expect there will be more,” she said.
Her remarks came amid renewed scrutiny of Nigeria’s security challenges by U.S. lawmakers, following the country’s designation by Washington as a country of particular concern over religious violence.
