Nigerian pro-democracy activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that American airstrikes in northwest Nigeria were aimed at protecting Christians, calling it a “scam” and part of a broader pattern of deceptive leadership by both U.S. and Nigerian authorities.
In a statement shared across his media platforms following Trump’s announcement of the strikes, Sowore said the narrative of religious protection masks deeper dysfunction and political mismanagement. “Donald Trump is scamming Americans claiming he is protecting Christians”, he wrote, accusing Trump of hypocrisy and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of compounding confusion with poor communication and unreliable intelligence.
It would be recalled that on December 25, President Trump announced that U.S. forces had carried out airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIS)-linked militant camps in Sokoto State, Nigeria, describing them as a response to alleged attacks on Christians in the region. Trump framed the action as a Christmas-time response to extremist violence, calling the militant groups “ISIS terrorist scum” and asserting the strikes were “powerful and deadly.”
U.S. Africa Command confirmed the operation was conducted with Nigerian cooperation, targeting militants allegedly responsible for planning attacks inside Nigeria. Abuja’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs echoed the assertion of joint action against violent extremism, though officials emphasized that violence affects both Muslim and Christian communities in Nigeria.
Sowore’s response did not contest the existence of extremist threats, but seized on what he characterized as informational chaos surrounding the strikes. In his statement, he argued that “truth has become the first casualty” amid conflicting accounts from U.S. and Nigerian authorities, with neither side providing clear, verifiable details about specific targets or outcomes more than 24 hours after the operation.
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He further accused Nigeria’s leadership of being complicit in amplifying U.S. narratives without substantive clarity: “This vacuum exists because Nigeria’s … Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scamming Nigerians.” Sowore condemned what he termed a “closed loop of deception: leaders lying to their people, lying to one another, and converting manufactured narratives into deadly consequences.”
Sowore also challenged Trump’s justification of the strikes as a defense of Christians, pointing out that Trump’s own immigration policies have at times restricted entry for groups the president claims to support, calling such actions contradictory. His remarks framed both administrations as engaging in political theatre rather than transparent governance.
Read Sowore’s full reaction below:
“In this era of failed Nigerian leadership, truth has become the first casualty. Twenty-four hours after the bombing, neither Nigeria nor its so-called “international partners” can provide clear, verifiable information about what was actually struck. This vacuum exists because Nigeria’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu @officialabat is scamming Nigerians.
@realDonaldTrump is scamming Americans claiming he is protecting Christians while banning the very Christians he professes to defend from entering the United States.
And Tinubu, in turn, is scamming Trump by feeding him dubious intelligence about terrorism, leading to U.S. bombs falling on alleged “ISIS targets” that exist more in propaganda than in reality.
It is a closed loop of deception: leaders lying to their people, lying to one another, and converting manufactured narratives into deadly consequences.
Nobody but ourselves can fix our countries!”
The strikes have sparked debate within Nigeria and internationally. Critics argue Trump’s emphasis on religious framing oversimplifies the country’s complex security landscape, where insurgent attacks have victimized Muslims and Christians alike, and where long-running conflicts involve a range of armed groups, including Boko Haram affiliates and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Domestic protests and civil society statements preceding the strikes warned against foreign military intervention and stressed respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty, while some U.S. lawmakers and allies defended Trump’s actions as a necessary response to extremist violence.
With both Nigerian and U.S. officials suggesting the possibility of continued cooperation against militant groups, the region’s security situation remains volatile. Sowore’s statement underscored his belief that meaningful solutions must come from accountable leadership and genuine transparency, rather than externally-driven military operations or politically charged narratives.
