Nigerian political activist and former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Friday, accused the Nigerian government of deliberately shielding financiers of terrorism while the country sinks deeper into violence and mass killings.
Frank said recent actions by U.S. President Donald J. Trump and the U.S. Congress have “embarrassed and compelled” the Nigerian government into reluctantly taking steps it should have taken years ago.
“I wish to thank President Trump and the good people of the United States who have shown sympathy and support for Nigerians at a time when terrorists and bandits threaten to overrun our nation,” Frank who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, said.
“I commend Secretary Marco Rubio for the strong visa restrictions placed on terror sponsors. This action is a welcome development and proof that the U.S. is more committed to ending insecurity in Nigeria than our own leaders.”
According to him, the visa restrictions imposed by the U.S. on sponsors of terrorism, announced by Secretary Marco Rubio, mark “the first serious international move that has forced Nigeria’s government to even pretend to act.”
“Let it be clearly stated: if President Trump had not stepped in, Nigeria’s leaders would still be looking the other way,” Frank declared.
“The U.S. has shown more will, more commitment, and more empathy toward Nigerians than the very government elected to serve and protect them.”
Frank said the biggest evidence of the Nigerian government’s unwillingness to confront insecurity is its refusal, across two administrations, to release the full list of terror financiers earlier exposed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“The government already has the list. The UAE gave it to them during the Buhari administration,” he said. “Yet, till today, the names have not been released because many of those sponsoring terrorism are politically connected. Some are members of the ruling party. That is the truth they do not want Nigerians to know.”
He added that corruption and political protection have made it impossible for the government to truly fight insecurity despite having the capacity to do so.
“The Nigerian government is not helpless,” he said. “It is simply compromised. And that is why terrorists and bandits have become emboldened enough to threaten the very soul of our country.”
Frank emphasised that the U.S. government’s intervention reflects a level of concern that Nigeria’s own leaders have failed to demonstrate.
“The U.S. has no obligation to spend its taxpayers’ money to protect Nigerians,” he noted. “Yet President Trump and members of Congress have shown more outrage over the kidnappings, genocide and mass killings in Nigeria than our own government, which continues to act with disturbing indifference.”
Frank urged the U.S. government not to share any intelligence with Nigerian authorities until the federal government releases the full, unedited list of terror financiers exactly as submitted by the UAE.
“There are terrorist sympathizers within the system,” he warned. “Sharing intelligence with people who may be compromised is dangerous. Until the names are publicly released and prosecuted, no sensitive information should be handed over.”
He condemned the Nigerian government for what he described as “reckless insensitivity,” citing reports of new luxury vehicles being purchased for political supporters while citizens are being massacred.
“At a time when Nigerians are being slaughtered daily, the government is busy buying jeeps and cars to prepare for the 2027 elections,” Frank said. “This shameful display shows exactly where their priorities lie, and it is not with the people.”
Frank who also serves as the Senior Advisor to the Global Friendship City Association (GFCA), USA, thanked the U.S. Congress, particularly Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Riley Moore, for championing the call to rescue Nigeria from escalating violence and instability.
“On behalf of millions of Nigerians who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods, we express profound gratitude to President Trump and the U.S. government,” he said.
“Their intervention has exposed what our own leaders have refused to confront and has given Nigerians renewed hope that this nightmare can end.”
