A Nigerian security analyst, Denis Amachree, has welcomed the recent United States military operation against terrorist groups in Nigeria, describing the intervention as timely, strategic and long overdue.

Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews on Thursday, Mr Amachree said the operation highlights the critical role of international cooperation in addressing Nigeria’s prolonged security challenges, noting that the US intervention is a “welcome idea”.

He explained that Nigeria has battled terrorism and insurgency for more than a decade without being able to fully eliminate the threat on its own, stressing that sustained external support is essential.

“You know that Nigeria has been fighting insurgency of terrorism for the past 16 years, and we have not had any go about it. Now you will find out that fighting terrorism, you cannot fight it yourself; you really need international support. So I think we have been asking for this and we have been looking for weapons,” he said.

According to Mr Amachree, support from strategic partners such as the United States is crucial to strengthening Nigeria’s counter-terrorism capacity and boosting its operational effectiveness.

He added that the US military action also sends a strong message to terrorist groups operating in the region, warning that further action could follow.

“I think it is strategic enough and it is a warning because there will be more strikes coming up,” he stated.

On Thursday, former US President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered the US military to carry out what he described as “powerful and deadly” strikes against targets of the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) group in northwestern Nigeria.

The strikes follow months of threats by Mr Trump to take military action against what he termed an “existential threat” to Christianity in Nigeria — a claim the Nigerian government has consistently rejected. The announcement was made in a post on the US Department of War’s X page.

Mr Amachree believes the intervention reinforces global resolve to confront extremism and could mark a turning point in regional efforts to weaken terrorist networks operating across West Africa.