Tinubu approved US airstrikes on terrorists in Sokoto but gave conditions

The Nigerian government has confirmed that President Bola Tinubu approved US strikes against terrorist camps in the country’s North-western region on Thursday.

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The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, disclosed this on Friday, hours after the US Department of War and President Donald Trump announced the coordinated military action.

Some observers have raised concerns that the strikes infringe on Nigeria’s territorial integrity. However, Mr Tuggar insisted that the federal government would not permit any action that violated the country’s sovereignty.

“It is a collaboration, it is what we have been calling for,” Mr Tuggar said on the breakfast show of Channels TV, monitored by PREMIUM TIMES.

“It was Nigeria that provided intelligence for the US strike in Nigeria. I spoke with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for 19 minutes before the strike, and we agreed to talk to President Tinubu for his go-ahead, and he gave it,” the minister said.

“After the approval, I spoke again with Marco Rubio five minutes before the strike was launched against the terrorists.”

The Strike

PREMIUM TIMES had reported the joint US–Nigeria operation against identified terrorist targets in Sokoto State.

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The Christmas Day strikes targeted militants linked to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISWAP), accused of violent attacks in the region, including bombings and assaults on civilians.

The attacks were the result of intelligence sharing and strategic coordination between the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Nigerian military.

The Conditions

While casualty figures remain unclear, US officials described the strikes as “precision hits on terrorist targets” aimed at weakening the operational capacity of terrorists and their networks.

“Now that the US is cooperating, we would do it jointly, and we would ensure, just as the president emphasised yesterday before he gave the go-ahead, that it must be made clear that it is a joint operation, and it is not targeting any religion nor simply in the name of one religion or the other,” Mr Tuggar said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

“We are a multi-religious country, and we are working with partners like the US to fight terrorism and safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians,” the minister said.

Although details of the operation were limited, the US Department of War later released a short video showing the launch of cruise missiles from a ship into Nigeria.

On Thursday, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the strike, describing it as part of structured counter-terrorism cooperation with the United States.

The ministry said the collaboration respects Nigeria’s sovereignty and international law and involves intelligence sharing and tactical support.

“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.”

The United States also confirmed Nigeria’s participation in the operation, highlighting ongoing security collaboration between both countries.

Although the US framed the strike as targeting terrorists who kill Christians, the Nigerian government said it was aimed at terrorists threatening civilians in northern states.

Mr Hegseth expressed gratitude to the Nigerian government for its support and cooperation in the operation. “Grateful for Nigerian government support and cooperation,” he wrote.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that while the US Secretary of War acknowledged Nigeria’s role, President Trump did not.

In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump simply 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 from a Navy ship in the Gulf of Guinea, hitting insurgents in two ISIS camps in Sokoto State. The operation was coordinated with the Nigerian military, the official said.

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US Africa Command said its initial assessment indicated that “multiple” ISIS terrorists were killed 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, commander of US Africa Command, said. “Our goal is to protect Americans and disrupt violent extremist organisations wherever they are.”