UNITED States President, Mr Donald Trump, said on Thursday that his government carried out airstrikes in North-West Nigeria on Christmas night, targeting ISIS militants he accused of killing Christians. He described the operation as ‘decisive’ and warned that more strikes would follow if the violence continued.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians,” Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social.
He said he had previously warned the militants that there would be consequences if the attacks did not stop, adding that the U.S. military conducted ‘numerous perfect strikes.’
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper,” Trump added, while praising the U.S. military and sending Christmas greetings.
Sequence of events
In early November, Mr Trump had designated Nigeria as a ‘country of concern’ and threatened to cut off aid and enter the nation to root out terrorists if the government failed to take action against the alleged Christian genocide. “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.
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“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians,” he said.
His post was backed by several American Republicans and officials of his government, including his Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth, who replied: “Yes sir. The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Mr Trump later appointed House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) and Rep. Riley Moore (R-West Virginia) to lead the investigation into the matter.
The U.S. delegation came to Nigeria to see things for themselves. But while they were still in Nigeria, Mr Trump added Africa’s most populous nation to the list of countries on partial entry restrictions to the United States.
The new Proclamation released by the White House recently added Nigeria and 14 other nations to the list of countries partially restricted from entering the U.S., which also included Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
On the reason for including Nigeria to the list, the Proclamation said, “Radical Islamic terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State operate freely in certain parts of Nigeria, which creates substantial screening and vetting difficulties. According to the Overstay Report, Nigeria had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 5.56 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 11.90 percent.”
The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria subsequently announced a partial suspension of visa issuance beginning January 1, 2026.
On December 22, news broke that the United States had been carrying out intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, according to flight-tracking data and current and former U.S. officials, signalling heightened security engagement between Washington and Abuja, Reuters reported.
Although Reuters said on Monday it could not confirm the precise objectives of the flights, the report marked the first confirmation by a major international news agency that U.S. surveillance missions are under way over Nigeria.
Flight-tracking data for December showed the contractor-operated aircraft typically departed from Ghana, flew over Nigeria, and returned to Accra. The operator was Mississippi-based Tenax Aerospace, a company that provides special-mission aircraft and works closely with the U.S. military, according to its website. The company did not respond to requests for comment, Reuters said.
