Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has described the Christmas Day US military airstrikes on Islamist militants in Sokoto State, northwest Nigeria as a “blessing,” signalling her husband’s government is open to deeper security cooperation with Washington.

Tinubu spoke to Fox News Digital during a week-long visit to Washington, where she sought to ease longstanding tensions between Nigeria and some US lawmakers over terrorism and religious violence in Africa’s most populous nation.

America’s Christmas Day strike targeting Islamist militants was welcomed by Abuja, she said, as Nigeria battles insurgents and criminal gangs operating across several regions.

“The intervention of the U.S. was quite a welcome development,” Tinubu said.

She added that Nigeria hopes the engagement will expand. “Nigeria is looking forward to collaboration” with the US on security issues. “We are expecting that there will be more.”

The fight against Islamist militants has increasingly drawn attention in US political debates, particularly among supporters of President Donald Trump. Trump previously designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” over violations of religious freedom, a label the President Bola Tinubu administration has strongly rejected.

Officials in Nigeria argue the violence is severe but not limited to any single faith or region. Earlier this year, gunmen believed to be Islamic extremists killed at least 162 people in Kwara state, burning homes and looting shops in Muslim majority communities where residents were targeted for rejecting extremist ideology.

“Terrorist groups hide in the forest, and also bandits and other people are kidnapping for ransom,” Tinubu said.

“We are concerned about our people’s safety,” she added, pointing to government measures including a nationwide security emergency, plans to recruit 50,000 new police officers and the redeployment of more than 11,000 officers from VIP protection duties to conflict affected areas.

Despite criticism over Christian killings, Tinubu said the attention has opened dialogue between both countries.

“We have that attention. We have the conversation going. And we are expecting that there will be more. You know, it’s going to yield better fruit for us, and both for us and also America.”

During meetings with senior US officials, Tinubu said she worked to explain Nigeria’s security realities. “We live in Nigeria. We know the situation on the ground,” she said.

A former senator until 2023, Tinubu – who also served as Lagos First Lady from 1999 to 2007 – is a prominent Christian leader and ordained pastor, while her husband is Muslim, a dynamic that reflects Nigeria’s deep religious diversity.

She also runs a Christian podcast and leads outreach through the Renewed Hope Initiative, a nonprofit aligned with the administration’s social agenda.

Beyond security, Tinubu linked stability to economic recovery and foreign investment. Nigeria’s deposits of lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals have attracted quiet US interest as Washington seeks to counter China’s dominance in Africa’s minerals market. However, insecurity in mining regions remains a major concern.

“We’re doing all we can to make sure that when investors come, they can feel comfortable and their investment can yield,” she said.

Nigeria, home to more than 230 million people and over 500 languages, has been plagued by decades of corruption and economic mismanagement despite vast natural wealth. Tinubu said the current administration, which took office in 2023, inherited these challenges and is working to reverse them through security reforms and tough economic measures.

Violence linked to Islamist insurgents and criminal militias has killed tens of thousands over the past decade. Groups including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, alongside bandit networks, continue to destabilise large parts of the country.

Christian advocacy groups say Christians have been disproportionately affected, particularly in rural areas, with estimates of more than 50,000 deaths since 2009, figures that remain difficult to independently verify but are frequently cited by US religious freedom advocates. (Arise News)

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