Odita Sunday 
The Conflict Research Network (CORN) West Africa, in partnership with The Africa Disruptions Lab (TADLab), will on January 21, 2026, convene a second policy dialogue to examine Nigeria’s security architecture following the United States Christmas Day airstrikes in Northwest Nigeria.
The dialogue, which will be held virtually via Zoom at 3:00 p.m. West Africa Time, is themed “The Christmas Day Reckoning: Tracking Justice and Change Since the U.S. Airstrikes in Nigeria.”
In a statement signed by its Communications Consultant, Bankole Shakirudeen Adeshina, CORN West Africa said the dialogue is aimed at interrogating issues of accountability, institutional response, security doctrine, international partnerships and civilian protection in the aftermath of the airstrikes.
The organisation noted that the incident has continued to generate calls for accountability and reform, with scholars and civil society actors describing it as a defining moment that exposes longstanding weaknesses in Nigeria’s security governance and democratic accountability.
According to the statement, the dialogue will assess whether Nigeria’s security institutions and political leadership have demonstrated learning, reform and transparency, or whether the country is sliding back into familiar patterns of silence and impunity.
The organisers said the session will feature experts with deep knowledge of Nigeria’s security situation, whose insights are expected to inform more coherent and people-centred local and foreign military policies.
The panellists include Professor Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome, Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu and Ms Abiodun Baiyewu.
“Rather than treating the Christmas Day United States-led military action as a closed chapter, the dialogue views it as part of an unfolding national test,” the statement said.
CORN West Africa added that unresolved questions around accountability, civilian protection and the use of force within Nigeria’s borders continue to challenge the credibility of the country’s security institutions and political leadership.
The organisation noted that this will be the second policy dialogue convened by CORN West Africa and TADLab on the issue, following an earlier session held on December 30, 2025, which attracted over 200 participants from Nigeria, Europe, North America and other parts of Africa.
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