Governors across Nigeria’s South-West, alongside their counterparts in Kogi and Kwara states, have been urged to make contingency plans for potential security repercussions following reports of a proposed United States military strike on terrorist camps within Nigeria.
The Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM) issued the warning on Friday in a statement jointly signed by its General Secretary, Poloola Ajayi, and Publicity Secretary, Suleiman Sanusi.
AYDM said that while it is uncertain when or where the United States might carry out such operations, any strike could push insurgent groups from their northern strongholds into the more industrialized southern region.
“Governments at both the state and federal levels must prepare to manage the consequences in ways that safeguard the dignity and safety of the Yoruba nation,”
the statement read.
The group’s comment follows remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who, via his Truth Social account, said that Nigeria’s Christian population faced an “existential threat” from Islamist extremists.
He vowed that Washington would not “stand by while such atrocities continue,” adding that his administration was “ready, willing, and able to protect our great Christian population around the world.”
Trump also directed senior lawmakers, including Congressman Riley Moore and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, to investigate the situation and report back to him.
According to AYDM, those opposing the U.S plan on the grounds of national sovereignty were being hypocritical, claiming that Nigeria’s leadership had already compromised sovereignty through corruption, electoral malpractice, and complicity in terrorism.
“Nigeria lacks the capacity to prevent the proposed U.S. strike,” the group asserted,
“and propaganda or proxy protests will make no difference this time.”
The movement acknowledged that mass killings of Christians were real but stressed that Muslims in the Yoruba and Middle Belt regions had also been victims of extremist violence.
AYDM further accused some Yoruba political and religious figures of hypocrisy for rejecting U.S. intervention without proposing viable solutions.
“They have shown no concern for the slaughter of their own people,” the statement added.
The organization called on South-West governors to work with local self-determination and community defense groups to improve intelligence gathering, track extremist movements, and fortify vulnerable areas.
AYDM also expressed support for U.S. sanctions on individuals and institutions suspected of funding terrorism, urging that such sanctions be extended to those promoting Sharia law in the South-West.
Finally, the group proposed creating a South-West Intelligence Gathering Bureau to coordinate anti-terrorism efforts and counter extremist propaganda in the region.
