By Ayomide Otitoju
United States President Donald Trump has said US forces carried out what he described as “powerful and deadly” airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday, following his warning to the group over attacks on Christians in the country.
The US Department of Defense confirmed that “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in the operation, which it said was conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities, though it provided limited details. Trump said the strikes targeted IS positions on Christmas Day.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump reiterated his earlier warnings to the militant group and praised the US military for the operation. “May God bless our Military,” he wrote.
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) also confirmed the strike in a post on X, stating that it was carried out in Sokoto State at the request of the Nigerian government and resulted in the deaths of several IS fighters. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the military’s readiness to act and expressed gratitude for Nigeria’s cooperation.
The operation marks the first known US military strike in Nigeria under Trump’s current administration. It follows comments he made in October and November in which he accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians, describing the situation as an “existential threat.”
While some observers welcomed Washington’s increased attention to security challenges in Nigeria, others cautioned that such rhetoric risks inflaming religious tensions in Africa’s most populous nation, which has a history of sectarian violence. Nigerian authorities and several independent analysts have consistently rejected portraying the country’s insecurity primarily as religious persecution.
Despite this, the Trump administration has continued to emphasise what it describes as global persecution of Christians. Earlier this year, the United States returned Nigeria to its list of countries of “particular concern” over religious freedom and imposed restrictions on visa issuance to Nigerian nationals.
