By joshua 
US airstrikes: Thousands of lives, trillions of naira would have been saved before now -Senator Karimi Praises Tinubu’s political will
28/12/2025
Chairman, Senate Services, Senator Sunday Karimi, said on Sunday that the lack of political will to act early cost Nigeria the loss of thousands of lives and trillions of naira in counter-terrorism operations in 16 years
Karimi, while assessing the ongoing collaboration between the Federal Government and the US Government to flush out terrorists and bandits in the Northwest, commended President Bola Tinubu’s bold decision in opting to move against terror elements with full force.
The Kogi-West Senator noted that had Tinubu’s predecessors acted in a similar manner by allowing combined local and external firepower to fight the terrorists, the lives and financial resources the country lost since 2009 would have been saved for other purposes.
“If Nigerian leaders before President Bola Tinubu had taken similar decisions when Boko Haram started some years back, that would have saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Nigerian citizens, including members of the armed forces and civilians.
“Trillions of naira would have been saved”, he told newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.
The lawmaker had called for the airstrikes to be extended to the North-Central, particularly Kogi-West, where he said had “turned up as an abode for notorious bandits and terrorists in the country.”
The US had carried out airstrikes in Nigeria on December 25, targeting ISIS militants in Sokoto State.
The strikes hit two ISIS camps in the Bauni forest, Tangaza area of the state, using Tomahawk missiles from a US Navy warship and MQ-9 Reaper drones.
Nigerian authorities confirmed that the coordinated strikes were conducted at Nigeria’s request, while precision hits were also confirmed by both US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry.
Karimi , in reviewing the efforts of the federal government and US President, Donald Trump, commended the latter’s humanitarian concerns, suggesting that he should be accorded the Nobel prize for peace.