EFF condemns US airstrikes in Nigeria

Johannesburg – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has condemned the United States airstrikes carried out on Nigerian soil on 25 December 2025, which targeted areas in northwest Nigeria, particularly Sokoto State. The strikes were publicly celebrated by former U.S. President Donald Trump as “powerful and deadly” attacks on what he described as ISIL-linked militants, and framed in religious terms, alleging Christians were being “viciously killed.”

The EFF described the strikes as a dangerous escalation of American military intervention in Africa and a blatant disregard for Nigerian sovereignty. The party said the U.S. narrative oversimplified a complex crisis rooted in poverty, state failure, land dispossession, and decades of instability, reducing violence affecting Christians, Muslims, and traditional communities alike to a story of “Christian killings by Muslims.” The party said this framing manufactured moral justification for foreign military intervention, dehumanising local populations while legitimising the use of drones, airstrikes, and other military actions with no accountability.

The EFF criticised the Nigerian government for its response. Instead of asserting sovereignty and challenging the precedent, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement praising “security cooperation” with the United States and describing the airstrikes as lawful and precise. The party described this as capitulation, signalling that African governments can be pressured into legitimising foreign military action on their own soil.

EFF spokespersons warned the Nigerian government that the United States has no history of military, economic, or diplomatic interventions that are mutually beneficial. The party pointed to U.S. actions in Venezuela, accusing the country of exploiting resource interests under the guise of counter-terrorism. In Nigeria, the EFF said, U.S. involvement is likely linked to oil interests.

The party called on African governments, ECOWAS, the African Union, and progressive movements to intervene, arguing that failure to resist could allow the continent to become a battleground for foreign powers using fear, religious division, and counter-terrorism rhetoric as cover. The EFF reiterated support for the people of Nigeria and warned that the United States’ aggressive stance, including towards South Africa over its support for Palestine, could threaten peace and stability across the continent.