Save Nigeria Group USA slams Tinubu govt over ‘reckless aggression’ in Benin Republic
By Jeffrey Agbo
Save Nigeria Group USA has sharply criticised the Bola Tinubu administration over what it described as “reckless military strikes” allegedly carried out by Nigeria in the Republic of Benin on Sunday, December 7, 2025.
In a strongly worded statement signed by Steven Osemwegie, the organisation said it “strongly condemns the reported military strikes carried out by the Bola Tinubu–led Nigerian government in the Republic of Benin,” insisting that the government’s justification for the action was unacceptable.
According to the group, while the administration claimed to be acting under the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance to avert a coup in Benin, it rejected this narrative, calling it “a thinly veiled excuse used to justify reckless aggression.” The statement accused the government of deploying “Nigerian Air Force assets across international borders without public debate, without legislative authorization, and without the consent of the Nigerian people.”
The organisation contrasted this with what it described as the government’s refusal to accept US support to “carry out targeted strikes against Boko Haram, Islamist Fulani militias, and other extremist groups that are terrorizing Nigerian citizens.” It stated that “the claim of sovereignty rings hollow when the government freely bombs a foreign country while leaving its own people vulnerable.”
The group raised alarm over what it called a “full-scale genocide” occurring within Nigeria, listing “over 100,000 deaths since 2009,” “7,000 killed between January and August 2025 alone,” and “an estimated 11 million internally displaced persons (IDPs)” displaced by terror groups. It added: “Entire communities have been destroyed. Churches burned. Villages wiped out. Families decimated.”
Save Nigeria Group USA faulted the Tinubu administration for prioritising external military action over domestic security, saying, “A president must first remove the log from his own eye before acting as a self-styled regional policeman. Nigerian lives must come first.”
It criticised the government for ignoring “known terrorist camps within Nigeria,” claiming that it had “abandon[ed] Christians, farmers, and villages to slaughter,” yet had suddenly found jets, fuel, and political will to bomb Benin Republic. The statement asked: “Why is this government quick to strike abroad but lethargic when faced with terror at home? Why does it show energy for foreign intervention but indifference towards protecting civilians?”
Osemwegie warned that the actions “expose the Tinubu administration’s unwillingness to confront terror sponsors, its complacency toward Nigerian suffering, and its growing complicity in the escalating Christian genocide,” noting that the strikes came while a US Congressional delegation is in Nigeria on a fact-finding mission.
The group also expressed concern for “the more than 350,000 displaced Nigerians currently living in IDP camps in Benin Republic,” questioning, “What happens if retaliatory violence erupts? Who protects vulnerable families — mostly women, children, and the elderly?”
It demanded evacuation flights and insisted that international law and human decency demand it.
Save Nigeria Group USA concluded that the attack “will fuel further instability, hatred, and violence on both sides of the border,” stressing that “Nigeria’s citizens — especially our Christian communities — deserve protection, not foreign adventures.” The group urged governments and civil society to “stand for truth, justice, and human dignity.”
