The Christmas Day Reckoning: One Month After U.S. Airstrikes in Nigeria, Silence Persists.

Practically one month after the US carried out airstrikes on Christmas Day 2025 in northwestern Nigeria, vital questions stay unanswered. There was no official affirmation of the strike’s exact location, its supposed targets, or the variety of civilians killed. The absence of clear communication has deepened public nervousness and uncovered longstanding weaknesses in Nigeria’s safety governance and accountability methods.

These considerations shaped the main focus of a digital coverage dialogue convened on January 21, 2026, by The Africa Disruptions Lab (TADLab) and Battle Analysis Community West Africa (CORN West Africa). The dialogue—the second in a unbroken collection—examined what has modified because the strike, what stays unresolved, and what the silence of establishments alerts for Nigeria’s sovereignty, civilian safety, and democratic accountability.

Held beneath the theme “The Christmas Day Reckoning: Monitoring Justice and Change Because the U.S. Airstrikes in Nigeria,” the dialogue introduced collectively main students and practitioners in human rights, governance, and safety.

No Publish-Strike Evaluation, No Accountability

A central concern raised through the dialogue was the absence of a clear, impartial, and publicly obtainable post-airstrike evaluation.

Practically a month after the operation, there was no authoritative affirmation of the variety of alleged terrorists neutralised, no verified civilian casualty figures, and no public injury evaluation.

Based on individuals, this lack of readability undermines humanitarian accountability and violates fundamental rules of civilian safety and democratic oversight.

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, Professor of Follow in Worldwide Human Rights Legislation at Tufts College and former Chairman of Nigeria’s Nationwide Human Rights Fee, pointed to stories suggesting that particles from the strike was present in Kebbi, Sokoto, and Niger States.

“There are stories of particles in Kebbi State, Sokoto State, and Niger State—and not one of the governors has mentioned a phrase,” Odinkalu mentioned.

He cited a report by The New Humanitarian indicating that as much as 200 unarmed civilians could have been killed, noting that the failure to research or publicly make clear these claims deepens distrust.

“The silence round this strike—from state governors, state assemblies, federal lawmakers, and even residents—creates the situations for impunity,” he mentioned.

Odinkalu was notably vital of presidential inaction, arguing that the failure of the commander-in-chief to deal with the incident publicly alerts a troubling disregard for accountability.

*Institutional Silence Throughout All Ranges*

Past the presidency, the dialogue highlighted a broad sample of silence throughout establishments constitutionally accountable for oversight and accountability. These embody the Nationwide Meeting, the Nigerian navy and police, opposition events, main civil society organisations, the media, and regional our bodies equivalent to ECOWAS and the African Union.

“The strike occurred on the territory of an ECOWAS member state,” Odinkalu famous. “But ECOWAS has mentioned completely nothing. That silence displays weak spot and a lack of relevance.”

On her half, Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome, a Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn School, Metropolis College of New York, and Chairpersom of TADLab, reiterated the priority.

“The establishments charged with defending Nigerians have demonstrated—by way of their silence—that they’re unwilling to behave within the public curiosity,” she mentioned.

Okome additionally noticed that the US has not carried out a clear congressional listening to or public investigation into the strike. She highlighted the shortage of accountability on the worldwide stage.

*Safety Structure Below Scrutiny*

Uncertainty concerning the strike’s location and affect has raised deeper considerations about Nigeria’s navy structure, intelligence administration, and safety governance.

Members famous that claims of precision concentrating on and in depth intelligence sharing are contradicted by inconsistent official narratives and the absence of authoritative briefings.

“There are indications inside Nigeria’s safety sector that the epicenter of the strike could have been within the Niger Republic,” Odinkalu mentioned., including that, “what Nigeria skilled could, in reality, have been particles.”

Okome added that even official supplies launched by those that carried out the strike had been riddled with errors.

“They misspelled Sokoto. No injury assessments have been carried out, or at the very least none have been made public,” she mentioned.

*Politicising Insecurity, Silencing Dissent*

The dialogue additionally examined how expressions of public concern are more and more framed as partisan assaults, discouraging civic engagement and shielding governance failures from scrutiny.

Odinkalu contrasted the federal government’s silence on the airstrikes with its responsiveness to elite tragedies.

“The President issued condolences when a public determine had an accident, and once more over a private loss suffered by a outstanding author,” he mentioned.

“But some of the consequential incidents affecting peculiar Nigerians has gone unacknowledged,” the human rights lawyer and scholar, added.

Okome, reinforcing the considerations, warned in opposition to what she described as misplaced celebrations of overseas navy intervention.

“The concept exterior actors will save Nigerians is a harmful phantasm,” she mentioned. “Safety and freedom solely emerge when native, regional, and overseas powers are held accountable to their social contracts.”

*Media, Civil Society, and Civic Apathy*

Members underscored the significance of media and civil society as defenders of public reality, whereas noting restricted home and worldwide protection of the strike.

“There was in depth world protection of occasions elsewhere,” Okome noticed, “however remarkably little critical engagement within the American press on what occurred in Nigeria.”

Odinkalu described the Nigerian media surroundings as more and more hostile, citing state actions that limit press freedom and discourage investigative journalism.

“The attraction by the federal authorities in opposition to a court docket ruling ordering investigation into the killing of journalists is telling,” he mentioned. “It displays a deep institutional disconnect and lack of empathy.”

*A Fractured Civic Response*

The muted public response to the airstrikes, individuals argued, displays Nigeria’s fragmented nationwide identification and the erosion of shared civic values.

“You’ll count on nationwide outrage,” Okome mentioned. “However Nigerians stay largely silent. If no one else cares, we should care.”

Odinkalu contextualised this response traditionally, arguing that Nigeria’s weak nationwide cohesion has lengthy been exploited by political elites to forestall collective mobilisation in opposition to injustice.

The dialogue concluded that the Christmas Day airstrikes characterize greater than a safety incident. They represent a vital take a look at of Nigeria’s governance, accountability, and civic consciousness.

With out clear investigations, institutional accountability, sustained media scrutiny, and energetic civic engagement, individuals warned, silence dangers turning into coverage—and impunity, the norm.

END

*Collectively signed:*

*Shakirudeen Bankole*

Communications Advisor

Battle Analysis Community

(CORN West Africa)

08033847701

guidearight@gmail.com

*Amsale Alemu*

Communications Officer

The African Disruption Lab (TADLab)