ABUJA, December 27, 2025 – The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has launched a scathing attack on the Federal Government over last week’s U.S. airstrikes in Sokoto State, framing the foreign-led military operation as a catastrophic failure of leadership and a dangerous abdication of national sovereignty.

In a strongly-worded statement released Friday, the opposition party described the December 25 strikes by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) as a “grim symbol” of the Tinubu administration’s “historic incompetence,” raising alarms about Nigeria’s long-term strategic autonomy.

A Sovereignty Crisis, Not a Security Success

While acknowledging the urgent need to combat terrorism, the ADC vehemently opposed the operational model that allowed foreign troops to execute direct strikes on Nigerian soil. The party argued this sets a perilous precedent, reducing Nigeria to a subordinate role in its own security affairs.

“The ADC reiterates its long-standing opposition to the physical operation of foreign military forces on Nigerian soil,” stated National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi. “We must not allow our desperation today to compromise the sovereignty of our country… What we see is that President Tinubu has outsourced his most important constitutional responsibility.”

The party demanded full transparency from the government, pressing for answers on critical operational details: the exact nature of Nigeria’s involvement, who exercised command-and-control, the number of terrorists neutralized, and the specific technological gap that allegedly necessitated foreign execution of the mission.

Criticism of “Careless” Communication and “Religious Framing”

The ADC also blasted the government’s handling of public information around the sensitive operation. The party noted that Nigerians first learned of the airstrikes through a social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump, with official Nigerian confirmation coming later through a ministry spokesperson.

“This reflects a frightening lack of awareness of the historic significance of this incident by the President of Nigeria,” the statement read.

Furthermore, the party expressed deep unease with the persistent framing of Nigeria’s security crisis in religious terms by the United States—a narrative it warned threatens national cohesion. The ADC questioned why the Nigerian government, if it were a true collaborative partner, has allowed this sectarian narrative to persist unchallenged in international discourse.

Contrasting Government Accounts and Widening Political Rift

The ADC’s condemnation stands in stark contrast to the Federal Government’s own account of the operation. On Friday, Information Minister Mohammed Idris provided a detailed briefing, confirming the strikes were precision-guided, approved by President Tinubu, and resulted in zero civilian casualties. The government described the action as a successful product of “structured cooperation” with international partners, targeting two major ISIS enclaves in Sokoto’s Bauni Forest.

This political rift highlights the deepening national debate over Nigeria’s security strategy. The controversy pits the government’s position—that sophisticated international collaboration is necessary to degrade advanced terrorist networks—against opposition fears that such partnerships erode sovereignty and expose a failure of domestic security capacity.

As security operations continue, the ADC’s statement ensures that the Sokoto strikes will be judged not only on their immediate tactical outcome but on their lasting impact on Nigeria’s sovereignty and the Tinubu administration’s legacy in the fight against terrorism.