Ex-Army Chief Dambazau Warns U.S. May Be Eyeing Military Base in Nigeria

Former Chief of Army Staff and ex-Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), has suggested that the United States may be positioning itself to establish a military base in Nigeria.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the 7th Annual Lecture of the Just Friends Club of Nigeria, Dambazau alleged that recent claims by some foreign politicians and religious leaders about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria could be influenced by external strategic motives.

He noted that despite the U.S. maintaining two military bases in Niger Republic for over a decade, insecurity in the region continued to worsen.

“In over ten years of U.S. presence in Niger, what exactly did they do to curb the growing security threats?” Dambazau questioned.

He further recalled that during the early months of Donald Trump’s return to office, members of the U.S. Congress accused the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) of funding terrorism in parts of Africa.

“I believe the U.S. is seeking an opportunity to establish an alternative base in Nigeria — a country that has shown it will protect its interests by any means necessary, including through the use of force,” he said, adding that “unfortunately, there are willing collaborators within Nigeria.”

Dambazau emphasized that terrorism in Nigeria is not directed at any single faith, noting that both Muslims and Christians have been victims of violence. He cited incidents such as attacks on mosques, assassinations of clerics, and killings of traditional rulers in the North as evidence that insecurity cuts across religious lines.

He urged Nigerians to unite in confronting insurgency and warned against allowing foreign powers to exploit internal religious or ethnic divisions.