The United States confirmed Nigeria’s involvement in a joint operation against terrorist groups on Thursday, underscoring ongoing security cooperation between both countries.
Although the US government framed the operation as one targeted at terrorists who kill Christians, the Nigerian government said it was targeted at terrorists causing harm to civilian populations in northern states.
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In a post on X, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said US President Donald Trump had been unequivocal about the need to end the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
He added that the US Department of War remained fully prepared, noting that the Islamic State group had been targeted during the operation carried out on Christmas Day, and indicated that further actions would follow.
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“The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come…”
Mr Hegseth expressed gratitude to the Nigerian government for its support and cooperation in the operation.
“Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” he wrote.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that while the Secretary of War acknowledged Nigeria’s role in the operation, President Trump did not.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said, “The United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries.”
The Strike
A US military official told The New York Times that the strike involved more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles fired off a Navy ship in the Gulf of Guinea, hitting insurgents in two ISIS camps in northwest Nigeria’s Sokoto State. The operation was done in coordination with the Nigerian military, the official told the Times.
The US military’s Africa Command said its initial assessment concluded that “multiple” ISIS terrorists were killed in the strike that occurred at the request of Nigerian authorities.
“US Africa Command is working with our Nigerian and regional partners to increase counter terrorism cooperation efforts related to ongoing violence and threats against innocent lives,” Dagvin Anderson, the commander of US Africa Command, said in a statement. “Our goal is to protect Americans and disrupt violent extremist organisations wherever they are.”
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the strikes were carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the United States, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups.
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said in a statement.
“Terrorist violence in any form — whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities — remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security,” Mr Ebienfa added.
“In line with established international practice and bilateral understandings, this cooperation includes the exchange of intelligence, strategic coordination, and other forms of support consistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty, and shared commitments to regional and global security.”
DHQ reacts
In its first official reaction to the operation, the Nigerian Defence Headquarters said the operation was executed with the approval of appropriate authorities and formed part of sustained efforts to rid the country of terrorists and other criminal elements threatening national security.
“The strikes followed credible intelligence and careful operational planning aimed at degrading the operational capabilities of the terrorists while minimising collateral damage. The operation was based on actionable intelligence and meticulous planning,” Defence spokesperson Samaila Uba said in a statement on Friday.
“It was deliberately calibrated to neutralise the targeted elements while minimising collateral damage,” Mr Uba, a major general, said.
“This action clearly demonstrates the unwavering resolve of the Federal Government of Nigeria, in collaboration with strategic international partners, to confront transnational terrorism and prevent foreign fighters from gaining any foothold within our borders,” he added.
The DHQ’s statement indicates that Nigeria provided the US with intelligence while the Americans conducted the actual bombing.
In his reaction to the strikes, a Nigerian security analyst, Bulama Bukarti, wrote on X, “Strikes against the group are a welcome development, as they can help degrade its leadership and logistical capacity. This is especially positive given that the operation was carried out with the consent and cooperation of the Nigerian government.”
Trump’s Nigeria claims
In recent months, Mr Trump has made frequent references to what he called the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, warning that the US will enter Africa’s most populous country “guns-a-blazing.”
PREMIUM TIMES reports that the US leader also designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” on the grounds of alleged Christian persecution.
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After designating Nigeria as CPC, Mr Trump also warned that “if the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing, to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
“I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Mr Trump said, adding that the Pentagon conducted “numerous perfect” strikes against Islamic State targets in the region.
The US attack reportedly took place in Sokoto state on Thursday, suggesting they targeted the Lakurawa, a criminal group operating in northwestern Nigeria, near Niger and Benin. The group has been attacking both government forces and civilians.
In responding to Mr Trump’s orders, US Africa Command in November drew up options for targeting insurgents in Nigeria and forwarded them to the Pentagon and the White House. “The options included airstrikes on the few known compounds in northern Nigeria inhabited by militant groups,” the New York Times reported.
“But even as the plans were being drawn up, American military officials said it was doubtful they would have much long-term impact because of the entrenched nature of the conflict,” the Times said.
The Nigerian authorities have rejected allegations of a Christian genocide, noting that the web of violent armed groups, with different motives and spread across the country, kill people of all religions and persuasions.
However, Nigerian officials have stepped up engagement with the US in recent weeks, after Mr Trump ordered the War Department in November to prepare to intervene militarily in Nigeria to protect Christians.
The Christmas Day attack came after the US started conducting intelligence-gathering surveillance flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November.
