After surprise US strikes targeting militants in Nigeria, it remains unclear who or what was really hit as Washington and Abuja tell slightly different stories.
Complicating matters is the fact that US President Donald Trump delayed the strikes, apparently to prioritize the symbolism of launching the attack on Christmas, and allegations that Washington backed away from issuing a joint statement with the Nigerians.
Both countries agree that the strikes hit targets linked to Islamic State, but neither gave details on which of Nigeria’s myriad armed groups were targeted.
“Twenty-four hours after the bombing, neither Nigeria nor its so-called ‘international partners’ can provide clear and verifiable information on what was actually hit,” activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore said on Saturday (December 27, 2025).
Nigeria is fighting several jihadist organizations, including several linked to the Islamic State. Neighboring countries are also battling IS-linked groups, and there are fears these conflicts are spilling over into the country.
Mohammed Idris, the country’s information minister, said late on Friday (Dec 26) that the attacks “targeted ISIS elements attempting to enter Nigeria from the Sahel corridor”.
In an interview with Sky News, Daniel Bwala, an adviser to President Bola Tinubu, identified as potential targets of Islamic State attacks, the dark armed group Lakurawa, or “bandits” – non-ideological armed gangs that control northwest Nigeria.
But analysts and the opposition People’s Democratic Party criticized the government for allowing “foreign powers” to “leak news of security operations in our country before our government does.”
Trump claims credit
Taking to social media on the night of the strike, Mr Trump was the first to take credit for the strikes from Thursday (December 25) to Friday (December 26) in the north-western state of Sokoto – sparking concerns among Nigerians that their sovereignty had been violated.
Trump also told US newspaper Politico that the strikes were planned earlier than Thursday (December 25), “And I said, ‘no, we’re going to give a Christmas present.’
The following morning, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar insisted that it was a joint operation, with Tinubu eventually giving approval and Nigeria providing intelligence for the strikes.
He later told television station Arise News that while on the phone before the strikes with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the two had agreed to issue a joint statement, but Washington rushed through its own.
Villages hit by mistake
Late on Friday (December 26), almost 24 hours after the attacks, it was Nigeria that finally provided clarity on what the targets were: “two major Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist enclaves” in Tangaza district of Sokoto state, according to Idris.
Other villages were hit by what the information minister said was debris from the strikes.
Images by an AFP photographer from Offa, in neighboring Kwara state, showed crumbling buildings destroyed by debris, with roofs caved in and belongings scattered among the debris.
The explosions in the town of Jabo in Sokoto state, also apparently caused by debris, shook the community and “surprised us because this area has never been” a stronghold of armed groups, local resident Haruna Kallah told AFP. No civilian casualties were reported.
The ammunition used was unclear. The US military released a video showing a naval ship firing what appeared to be missiles.
Idris said “the strikes were launched from naval platforms based in the Gulf of Guinea”. He also said a total of 16 GPS-guided precision munitions were deployed “using MQ-9 Reaper drones.”
Targets unknown
The choice to strike the northwest also caused confusion among analysts, as Nigerian jihadists are mainly concentrated in the northeast.
Some scholars have recently linked some members of the armed group known as Lakurawa – the main jihadist group based in Sokoto State – to the Islamic State of Sahel Province (ISSP), but other analysts have questioned the links.
The strikes also came after a diplomatic rift between Washington and Abuja sparked by Mr Trump saying the violence in the country amounted to the “persecution” of Christians – a frame long used by the US religious right.
The Nigerian government and independent analysts deny the allegations.
The framing of Nigeria’s violence in religious terms, the lack of clarity about targets and the fact that the strikes were delayed until Christmas all add to critics’ fears that the attack was more symbolic than substantive.
Both countries have said more strikes are on the table.
Published – 27 Dec 2025 18:09 IST
