The Federal Government has confirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the United States’ airstrikes on terrorist camps in Nigeria’s North-West on Thursday.
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.
Amid concerns in some quarters over Nigeria’s territorial integrity, Tuggar insisted that the Federal Government would not authorise any operation that violated the country’s sovereignty.
“It is a collaboration. It is what we have been calling for,” Tuggar said during a Channels Television breakfast programme.
He explained that Nigeria provided the intelligence that led to the strikes, adding that he held extensive discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio before President Tinubu gave formal approval.
“It was Nigeria that provided the intelligence for the US strike. I spoke with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for 19 minutes before the strike, and we agreed to brief President Tinubu, who gave the go-ahead,” the minister said.
He added that he spoke again with Rubio minutes before the operation commenced against the identified terrorist targets.
The joint US–Nigeria operation targeted terrorist camps in Sokoto State during the Christmas Day offensive.
The strikes were directed at militants linked to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISWAP), accused of carrying out bombings and violent attacks against civilians in parts of the North-West.
The operation followed intelligence sharing and strategic coordination between the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Nigerian military.
Although casualty figures were not disclosed, US officials described the strikes as precision operations aimed at degrading terrorist networks and their operational capacity.
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Tuggar stressed that the action was not directed at any religion, noting that the Federal Government was deliberate in ensuring the operation was framed as a joint counter-terrorism effort.
“We made it clear, as the President emphasised before giving approval, that this was a joint operation and not one targeting any religion,” he said.
“Nigeria is a multi-religious country. We are working with partners like the United States to combat terrorism and protect the lives and property of Nigerians,” the minister added.
Details of the operation remained limited, but the US Department of War later released footage showing cruise missiles launched from a naval vessel toward targets in Nigeria.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the strikes, describing them as part of structured counter-terrorism cooperation with the United States.
The ministry said the collaboration was conducted in line with international law and with full respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty, involving intelligence sharing and tactical support.
“This has led to precision airstrikes on terrorist targets in the North-West,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said, adding that terrorism against any group remains a threat to national and global security.
The United States also acknowledged Nigeria’s role in the operation, highlighting sustained security cooperation between both countries.
While US officials framed the strikes as targeting militants killing Christians, the Nigerian government clarified that the operation was aimed at terrorists threatening civilians, regardless of religion, in northern states.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth publicly thanked Nigeria for its cooperation, although President Trump did not acknowledge Nigeria’s role in his statement.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States had launched “powerful and deadly” strikes against ISIS militants in North-West Nigeria.
A US military official later told The New York Times that more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from a US Navy ship in the Gulf of Guinea, hitting two ISIS camps in Sokoto State in coordination with Nigerian forces.
