Nigeria’s First Lady, Remi Tinubu, has called for expanded United States military action against terrorists and bandits operating in northern Nigeria, describing the recent U.S. airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump as “quite a blessing.”
Mrs Tinubu made the remarks in an interview with Fox News during an official visit to the United States, where she emphasized Nigeria’s expectation of deeper security cooperation with Washington. “Nigeria is looking forward to collaboration,” she said. “We are expecting that there will be more.”
The First Lady attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday, where President Trump publicly praised her. The meeting came months after reports that Nigeria spent millions of dollars on Republican lobbyists to improve the country’s image in the U.S., following President Trump’s criticism of Nigeria in 2025 over insecurity and religious violence.
In January, President Trump warned that the United States would take direct action if attacks on Christians in Nigeria continued. On Christmas Day, he announced that U.S. forces had carried out airstrikes on terrorist targets in northwest Nigeria, marking the first publicly acknowledged direct American military operation in the country.
Trump described the operation as “powerful and deadly,” stating that it targeted terrorist groups allegedly responsible for the killing of innocent civilians, particularly Christians.
