If religious war breaks out in Nigeria, no foreign power will save anyone, Lawyer Omirhobo warns Christians jubilating over US Sokoto bombing

*Calls for official disclosure of terrorism sponsors, enablers, self-defence permit

*Says US intervention has never brought lasting peace

By KEMI KASUMU

Omirhobo argued that the violence being experienced in many parts of Nigeria is organised and sustained, not random, and warned that applauding foreign airstrikes distracts from the real work required to end terrorism.

A human rights lawyer and accountability advocate, Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo, has warned Nigerian Christians against celebrating foreign military intervention, cautioning that no external power would come to the country’s rescue should a religious conflict erupt.

Omirhobo gave the warning while reacting to reports that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) welcomed a recent United States military operation targeting terrorists allegedly responsible for violence in parts of Nigeria.

His remarks were contained in a statement obtained by The DEFENDER Newspaper on Saturday, December 27, 2025.

Specifically, the lawyer criticised comments attributed to John Hayab, President of CAN in the Northern Region, describing the endorsement of the pro-Christians US military action as “misguided, dangerous and strategically short-sighted.”

“Let it be stated clearly and without equivocation: bombing is not the solution to Nigeria’s security crisis,” Omirhobo said.

According to him, Nigeria’s core security challenge is not the lack of foreign military power but the failure of the Nigerian state to identify, expose and prosecute those who sponsor, finance, enable and protect terrorism within the country.

“Nigeria’s problem is not the absence of foreign firepower; it is the failure of the government to confront internal networks sustaining organised terror through complicity and negligence,” he said.

Omirhobo argued that the violence being experienced in many parts of Nigeria is organised and sustained, not random, and warned that applauding foreign airstrikes distracts from the real work required to end terrorism.

He called on the Federal Government to publicly disclose the identities of terrorism sponsors and facilitators, conduct independent and transparent investigations into security, political and institutional actors implicated by action or omission, and ensure that all those involved are prosecuted regardless of religion, ethnicity or political influence.

The lawyer also urged the government to review restrictions on civilian access to lawful firearms, insisting that communities should be empowered to defend themselves while security agencies remain overstretched.

Omirhobo further maintained that foreign military intervention has never delivered lasting peace in any society, citing past US involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

“The record is clear. The United States intervened in these countries under similar narratives, only to disengage when its strategic interests changed,” he said.

He added that Washington now openly engages actors it once labelled terrorists, including Syria’s current leadership, underscoring that such engagements are driven by geopolitics rather than humanitarian concern.

“This is not charity; it is geopolitics. The United States has no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests,” he said.

Warning of the consequences of misplaced expectations, Omirhobo stated that if a religious conflict were to break out in Nigeria, no foreign power would intervene to save any group.

“Such a conflict would be fought in cities, towns, villages, homes, markets and workplaces — not in distant forests,” he warned.

On the way forward, Omirhobo stressed that Nigeria does not need foreign bombs but effective governance, justice, courage and accountability.

“Until the Nigerian state confronts and dismantles the internal machinery sustaining terrorism, every foreign strike merely postpones disaster and deepens division,” he said.

He concluded by urging the country to take responsibility for its own security. “Nigeria must stop outsourcing its security conscience. Nigeria must act.”