Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers, a Ghanaian lawyer, has slammed the Nigerian government over the recent US strike in its northwest territory.
He believes Abuja had no clue about the incident but is claiming to have sanctioned it to save face.
President Trump in a social media post on Thursday, December 25, 2025, posted that the “powerful and deadly strike” was against the Islamic State (IS) group in the north-western part of Nigeria.
The US leader described IS as ” terrorist scum”, accusing the group of “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians”.
Trump said the US military “executed numerous perfect strikes”, while the US Africa Command (Africom) later reported that Thursday’s attack was carried out in co-ordination with Nigeria in the Sokoto state.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC it was a “joint operation” targeting “terrorists”, and it “has nothing to do with a particular religion”.
But according to the Ghanaian legal practitioner, the “joint operation” comment from the Nigerian government is just to deceive the public.
“This strike, I can tell you that the Nigerian government has no clue, they did not even know about this strike,” he stated. “What they are doing is to save face so that their people will feel that they are in control. Donald Trump is someone who is determined and when he says he is coming after you, he’ll come after you.”
He described the entire operation as an act of hypocrisy by President Trump, citing other places where similar incidents are being perpetuated without any action from the US. “I think the strike was a demonstration of hypocrisy on the part of the US President. Because we know what is happening in Palestine, we know what Israel is doing.”
Trump had earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” because of the “existential threat” posed to its Christian population. He said “thousands” had been killed, without providing any evidence.
In November, he ordered the US military to prepare for action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups.
He did not say at the time which killings he was referring to, but claims of a genocide against Nigeria’s Christians have been circulating in recent months in some right-wing US circles.
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that he was “grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation”.
“Merry Christmas!” he added, writing on X.
The US Department of Defense later posted a short video that appeared to show a missile being launched from a military vessel.
On Friday morning, the Nigerian foreign ministry said in a statement that the country’s authorities “remain engaged in structured security co-operation with international partners, including the United States of America, in addressing the persistent threat of terrorist and violent extremism.
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the statement said.
‘The strike was a demonstration of hypocrisy on the part of the US President’ – Brako-Powers
