By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), has warned that the United States may be positioning itself to establish a military base in Nigeria under the guise of protecting Christians from persecution.
Dambazau, who also served as Minister of Interior, made the claim on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at the 7th Annual Lecture of the Just Friends Club of Nigeria.
The lecture, themed “Nigeria’s Security Challenges and the Quest for National Cohesion: A New Paradigm for Internal Security Architecture and Governance,” explored Nigeria’s worsening security situation and the role of external influences.
The retired general linked recent narratives by some American politicians and religious leaders alleging “Christian persecution” in Nigeria to what he described as strategic foreign interests.
He cited recent remarks attributed to former US President Donald Trump, who reportedly declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” and directed the US Department of War to prepare for “possible operations to defend Nigerian Christians.”
Dambazau questioned the motive behind such statements, noting that the US operated two military bases in Niger Republic for over a decade without stemming insecurity in the region.
“In the more than ten years of US presence in Niger, what did it do to prevent the growth of security challenges?” he asked. “I think the US is looking for an opportunity to establish an alternative base in Nigeria, a country it knows is strategically important. Unfortunately, they have willing partners here.”
The former army chief added that insecurity in Nigeria is part of a broader regional crisis in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, not a religious war.
He said both Muslims and Christians have suffered terrorist attacks, contrary to claims of “Christian genocide” being amplified by some foreign actors and local clergy.
“Religious tensions have been amplified by both domestic and foreign actors, sometimes resulting in the mischaracterization of security incidents as targeting specific faith groups,” he said.
Dambazau also lamented Nigeria’s limited capacity to protect citizens, citing incidents like the March 2022 Abuja–Kaduna train attack and the July 2022 Kuje prison break as glaring examples of security failures.
According to him, weak state protection has forced many communities to negotiate with bandits for survival.
“Recently, communities in Zamfara and Katsina decided to sign agreements with the bandits to avoid attacks, meaning the people now rely on the bandits for protection,” he said.
He further warned that external forces could exploit Nigeria’s internal divisions if national cohesion is not urgently strengthened.