The Federal Government has confirmed that President Bola Tinubu authorised the recent United States airstrikes against terrorist elements operating in Nigeria’s North-Western region.
The confirmation was given on Friday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, shortly after the US Department of War and President Donald Trump announced that American forces had carried out coordinated strikes against the militants.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Tuggar explained that the operation was conducted jointly and with full Nigerian consent.
He stressed that President Tinubu was deliberate in ensuring the action was clearly defined as a collaborative effort and not framed along religious lines. “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,” he said.
The minister noted that Nigeria’s diversity made it imperative to avoid narratives that could inflame religious tensions, adding that the government’s priority remained the protection of lives and property. “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,” Tuggar said.
Addressing concerns that the strikes could amount to a breach of Nigeria’s sovereignty, Tuggar dismissed such claims, insisting that the Federal Government would not endorse any action that undermined territorial integrity. “It is a collaboration, it is what we have been calling for,” he said, underscoring that Nigeria initiated the process through intelligence sharing.
According to the minister, Nigerian authorities provided the intelligence that enabled the strikes. He revealed that he held extensive discussions with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, before the operation was approved. “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,” Tuggar stated. He added that he spoke again with Rubio “5 minutes before the strike was launched against the terrorists.”
On Thursday, the US Department of Defense announced that “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed during the airstrikes, which it said were carried out at the request of the Nigerian government. President Trump also confirmed the operation, declaring, “The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.”
In a controversial post on Truth Social, Trump added, “May God bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.” While specific operational details were initially withheld, the US Department of War later released a brief video showing an airstrike conducted in Nigeria.
Further confirmation came from the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), both of whom said the strikes in Sokoto were carried out in “coordination with Nigerian authorities.” Hegseth wrote on X, “The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight—on Christmas. More to come… Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation.”
The strikes followed earlier remarks by Trump in which he claimed Christians in Nigeria faced an “existential threat” amounting to “genocide.” He subsequently placed Nigeria back on the list of “Countries of Particular Concern,” threatened military action, and imposed visa restrictions on Nigerians. Nigerian authorities, however, rejected the portrayal of the violence as religiously motivated, maintaining that victims of attacks in the country cut across different faiths.
What you should know
The Nigerian government maintains that the US airstrikes were conducted with full approval from President Bola Tinubu and based on intelligence provided by Nigerian security agencies.
Officials insist the operation was a joint counter-terrorism effort, not a unilateral US action or a religiously motivated campaign. While the US described the strikes as successful hits against ISIS targets, Nigerian authorities continue to reject claims that violence in the country is driven by religion, stressing that terrorism affects citizens of all faiths.
The episode highlights deepening security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States amid ongoing insurgency concerns in the North-West.
