During Michael Freeman appearance on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on Friday, March 6, 2026, the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, made a series of allegations regarding Iran’s influence within Nigeria’s borders. Addressing the recent waves of pro-Iranian protests in cities like Abuja and Kaduna, he claimed that the Islamic Republic is actively exporting its radical ideology to destabilize the region.
“Iran is not just a threat to Israel; it is a threat to the world, including right here in Nigeria. They are sponsoring proxies and extremist ideologies that seek to undermine the sovereignty of nations,” the Ambassador stated during his intense back-and-forth with anchor Rufai Oseni. He argued that the death to Israel sentiment expressed by some local groups is a direct byproduct of Tehran’s terror sponsorship” and financial support for radical elements on Nigerian soil.
Ambassador Freeman’s comments specifically linked the ongoing unrest in Nigeria, sparked by the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader to a broader global strategy by Tehran to use soft and hard power to create chaos. He warned that the same tactics Iran uses to fund groups like Hezbollah and Hamas are being mirrored in the Sahel and West Africa to exploit local grievances.
“When you see people on the streets of Abuja waving Iranian flags and calling for destruction, you have to ask who is funding that movement and whose interests they are serving,” Freeman said, suggesting that the “Shiite protests” are part of a coordinated effort by Iran to expand its “axis of resistance” into the African continent. He emphasized that Israel’s military actions in the Middle East are intended to dismantle the very infrastructure that allows Iran to project this “destabilizing influence” globally.
Despite the gravity of these claims, the Ambassador’s rhetoric faced immediate skepticism from those who view it as an attempt to draw Nigeria into a distant geopolitical conflict. While the Nigerian government has yet to issue a formal rebuttal to the claim of direct “terrorism sponsorship” by Iran within its borders, the Nigerian security services have remained on high alert to prevent the “Iran-Israel proxy war” from escalating into domestic violence.
“Israel will destroy Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capability,” he vowed, reiterating that a weakened Tehran would ultimately benefit Nigeria by cutting off the “ideological and financial lifeline” for radical groups operating in the North. For now, his allegations have left the Nigerian public divided between those who fear foreign meddling and those who see his warnings as a necessary wake-up call regarding the country’s internal security vulnerabilities.
