Nigeria has indicated that additional military strikes against terrorist groups may follow recent joint operations with the United States, after a Christmas Day airstrike reportedly killed several militants in the country’s northwest.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said on Friday that security cooperation between Abuja and Washington was ongoing, raising the prospect of more coordinated actions against jihadist groups operating in Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television, Tuggar disclosed that Nigeria provided the intelligence that led to the US-led bombardment and that he had communicated directly with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of the operation.
Asked whether more strikes should be expected, Tuggar replied, “It is an ongoing thing, and we are working with the US. We are working with other countries as well.”
Nigeria is battling multiple security challenges across its northern regions, including a long-running jihadist insurgency in the northeast and widespread banditry, kidnappings, and attacks on rural communities in the northwest.
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) earlier confirmed that “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed during an operation in Sokoto State, although Nigerian and US authorities have not clearly identified which armed groups were targeted. US defence officials later released footage showing what appeared to be the nighttime launch of a missile from a US naval vessel.
Security analysts note that while jihadist activity has traditionally been concentrated in northeastern Nigeria, extremist groups have increasingly expanded into the northwest. Some researchers have linked fighters from Lakurawa, a jihadist group active in Sokoto State, to the Islamic State Sahel Province, which operates mainly in Niger and Mali. Other analysts, however, have questioned those links, noting that the term “Lakurawa” has been used broadly to describe various armed groups in the region.
There are also reports suggesting connections between some Lakurawa elements and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a rival to the Islamic State group.
The strikes come amid diplomatic tensions between Nigeria and the United States following comments by former US President Donald Trump, who described violence in Nigeria as the mass killing of Christians. Nigerian authorities and independent analysts have rejected that characterisation, insisting the conflict is not religiously motivated.
Tuggar stressed that the operation had the full approval of President Bola Tinubu and was conducted as a partnership.
“It must be made clear that it is a joint operation, and it is not targeting any religion nor simply in the name of one religion or the other,” the minister said.
An Abuja-based researcher with Good Governance Africa, Malik Samuel, said Nigeria was under pressure to demonstrate cooperation with the US, even though most of the violence in the northwest involves Muslim communities on both sides of the conflict.
Despite the complexities, Nigerian officials have welcomed the strikes as part of broader international efforts to curb terrorism and restore security in the country.
