US Launches Christmas Day Strikes on Nigerian Villages, ISIS Claims Questioned by Residents and Analysts

On Christmas Day evening, the US military launches strikes on at least three settlements in Sokoto state, northwest Nigeria, firing 16 GPS-guided precision munitions from naval platforms in the Gulf of Guinea. President Trump announces the operation on social media, claiming “a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria” that “decimated” terrorist camps.

However, residents of Jabo village tell local media a starkly different story. They report the projectiles landed in empty fields, causing no casualties. “Glory be to God, there was no loss of life,” one resident tells Arise News. Video footage shows burnt metal debris in what appears to be farmland. Residents express surprise at being targeted, noting the last militant attack in their area occurred two years ago.

Nigerian security analysts question the choice of Sokoto state as a target. Mustapha Gembu calls it “highly questionable,” noting Sokoto suffers more from banditry than terrorism and has almost no Christian population—despite Trump framing the strikes as responding to “terrorist activity directed against Christians.” Sokoto is a predominantly Muslim region and the historical seat of the Sokoto Caliphate, a spiritual center of Islam in Nigeria.

The Nigerian government claims the strikes received “explicit approval” from President Tinubu and were conducted “in conjunction with” US forces. Major General Samaila Uba says the operation targeted “foreign Isis-linked elements” based on “credible intelligence.” However, one senior Nigerian government official, speaking on background, admits he was still trying to establish facts about when Abuja was informed of the timing and location, and acknowledges Sokoto was “not the most obvious choice of target.”

Opposition politician Umar Ardo demands Tinubu explain “the legal basis, authorisation process and strategic rationale,” questioning whether Nigerian authorities exercised “meaningful control over the operation or they are themselves mere onlookers.”

The strikes follow Trump’s November threat to deploy the US military “guns a blazing” against attacks on “cherished Christians” in Nigeria, pressure that led Tinubu to dispatch security officials to Washington and replace his defence minister. The operation continues the administration’s aggressive Africa posture—since February, the US has conducted over 100 strikes in Somalia, including what Admiral James Kilby called “the largest air strike in the history of the world” in May.