American Issues Warning of More Nigerian Military Actions as Abuja Speaks of 'Joint Ongoing Missions'.

The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has indicated further strikes against ISIS strongholds in northwest Nigeria. This comes hours after U.S. military forces conducted operations against insurgent bases. The ex-president Donald Trump has framed these efforts as part of a campaign to end the slaughter of Christians.

“The president was clear last month: the killing of defenseless Christians in Nigeria must end,” the defense secretary wrote on a social platform. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS discovered tonight – on Christmas. Additional actions will follow … Thankful for Abuja's backing and collaboration. Merry Christmas!”

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Describes Strikes as Joint Effort

Nigeria’s top diplomat, Yusuf Tuggar, remarked on Friday that the U.S. strikes were “part of collaborative ongoing operations.” This statement followed after the former U.S. leader had earlier accused Nigeria’s government of not doing enough to stop Christians from being killed.

Nigeria is constitutionally a non-religious state with a population almost evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Violence against Christians has drawn attention from religious groups in the United States, who frame it as religious persecution. The government in Abuja have pointed out that militants target both Christians and Muslims.

Information and Coordination Behind the Missions

Nigerian authorities supplied the intelligence for the airstrikes in Sokoto state, Tuggar told a television network. He detailed that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, before called the Nigerian president for approval, and then conferred with the American official again.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the Americans,” Tuggar stated. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for, to work with the Americans, to work with other countries, to combat terrorism, to stop the death of blameless Nigerians … It’s a collaborative effort.”

The U.S. military’s Africa Command said the strikes in Sokoto state had been executed in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

Context of Conflict in North-West Nigeria

Forests in Sokoto state, which borders Niger, have been used as bases by gangs of armed bandits and members of ISSP. Some observers say this affiliate started when pastoralists joined together to fight bandits due to a absence of state support. The region is predominantly Muslim.

Clashes between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farming communities have been aggravated by communal and sectarian factors, but their core causes lie in competition for resources.

• Priests and religious leaders have increasingly been taken hostage, though some experts say this may be driven more by criminal incentives than sectarian hatred.
• A Christmas Eve suicide bombing at a mosque in north-east Nigeria took the lives of at least five people and wounded dozens more, in a distinct insurgency mostly unrelated to the violence in the north-west.

Ongoing Violence and Statistics

There have been thousands of incidents of violence in Nigeria this year, with about half of them targeting civilians, according to conflict monitoring data. States like Katsina and Sokoto have been among the most affected regions.

Tuggar stressed that the operation was about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives,” not a single faith. “It is a joint operation,” he said. “It is not aimed at any religion.”

Wider U.S. Foreign Policy

This intervention comes amid a wider pattern of U.S. military activity overseas during this period. Despite campaigning as a “champion of peace” who promised to withdraw the U.S. from “endless wars,” the first year of this presidency has seen military actions in multiple countries and a major military buildup in another region.

No official from the U.S. or Nigerian authorities have revealed if there were any fatalities in the recent airstrikes. When questioned if additional actions would follow, Tuggar responded: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us it is something that is ongoing.”