Nigeria said it was sharing intelligence with the US ahead of airstrikes on ISIS targets in the country on Christmas night.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Friday that it was “engaged in structured security cooperation” with other countries, including the US, adding that the cooperation “led to precision strikes on terrorist targets.” The ministry said the joint security efforts include intelligence sharing and strategic coordination.
“Nigeria reiterates that all counter-terrorism efforts are guided by the primacy of protecting civilian lives, safeguarding national unity and upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens, regardless of creed or ethnicity. Terrorist violence in any form, whether directed against Christians, Muslims or other communities, remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security,” the ministry wrote in a statement. posted on X.
TRUMP’S WARNING TO NIGERIA PROVIDES HOPE TO THE NATION’S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS
Members of St. Leo Catholic Church hold a procession to mark Palm Sunday in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria on April 13, 2025. (Adekunle Ajayi/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump announced the Christmas night airstrikes in northwestern Nigeria, saying the targets were ISIS militants whom he accused of killing Christians. The president also warned that further attacks would occur if violence against Christians continued.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly attack against the United States ISIS terrorist scum in Northwestern Nigeria, who have targeted and viciously murdered mostly innocent Christians at levels not seen in many years and even centuries!” Trump said on Truth Social on Thursday.
“I have warned these terrorists before that if they did not stop the slaughter of Christians there would be hell, and tonight that was the case. The War Department carried out countless perfect attacks, as only the United States is capable of.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to flourish,” he continued. “May God bless our military and a Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
A drone shot of Christians leaving St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church after Sunday Mass in Palmgrove, Lagos, Nigeria, November 2, 2025. (Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters)
NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN LEADER CALLS TRUMP’S SPOTLIGHT ON VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA AN ‘ANSWERED PRAYER’
Jabo is a predominantly Fulani town in Sokoto State and is seen as a haven for militants and a link to neighboring states such as Kebbi and Zamfara. As far as we know, there is no church presence in Jabo.
At the moment there is a fear of reprisals because of the airstrike.”
Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.
Gunmen pick up belongings left behind by worshipers who took cover after hearing gunshots as they walk into a church in Eruku, Kwara State, Nigeria, on November 18, 2025, in this photo obtained from social media. (Social media/via Reuters)
US AMBASSADOR MICHAEL WALTZ DECLARES Atrocities AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA ‘GENOCIDE’
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, who has been outspoken about violence against Christians in Nigeria, praised the strikes. The ambassador said the precision strikes showed Christians in Nigeria and around the world that Trump would “fight for them.”
Last month, Trump threatened to “do things in Nigeria that Nigeria will not like” and “go into that now disgraced country with guns blazing.”
That warning set the stage for the Christmas Eve strikes, which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said met the president’s demand that the killings stop. Hegseth also included in a message on X a reference to the US-Nigeria collaboration that led to the strikes.
“The president was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” Hegseth wrote on X. [War Department] is always ready, as ISIS discovered tonight – at Christmas. More to come… Grateful for the support and cooperation of the Nigerian government. Merry christmas!”
This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen kidnapped children and staff in the Papiri community in Nigeria, Friday, November 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
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Christians and Christian institutions in Nigeria have come under attack in recent months, sparking global outrage and angering the Trump administration.
In November, gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church, killing two people and kidnapping dozens. The 38 kidnapped worshipers were released almost a week later.
The attack on the Christ Apostolic Church was preceded and followed by attacks on Christian schools in Nigeria.
In the days before the attack, gunmen kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi state and killed at least one staff member. One of the girls managed to escape on the same day as the kidnapping, while the remaining 24 were rescued about a week later. The Associated Press reported.
Days after the attack on Christ Apostolic Church, armed attackers invaded Saint Mary’s School and kidnapped more than 300 students and staff. School officials said 50 of the students were able to escape in the following days, while 253 students and 12 teachers were captured.
