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The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed it possesses information regarding the recent United States airstrikes on terrorist targets in Sokoto State but says it will not make the details public.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the police would not comment on the specifics of the operation.
“We engage a lot in intelligence gathering, not just intelligence sharing. As the Police Force, we know certain things about the strikes, but we don’t want to talk about them. We decline to talk about that particular operation,” Hundeyin said.
He noted that the operation involved collaboration with other security agencies but stressed that it falls under the purview of defence authorities.
“There was cooperation, but we would rather leave it as a defence matter that the defence would talk about,” he added.
Background to the Airstrikes
The comments followed US airstrikes carried out in Sokoto State on December 25, 2025, targeting terrorist enclaves in north-west Nigeria.
The United States Department of Defense confirmed that “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in the strikes, which it said were conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.
US President Donald Trump announced the operation via his Truth Social platform, describing the strikes as decisive and effective.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” Trump wrote.
He added that US forces carried out “a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in northwest Nigeria,” claiming the militants had been “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.”
“I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay — and tonight, there was,” he stated.
Nigeria Confirms Approval, Intelligence Support
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, later confirmed on Boxing Day that the Nigerian government approved the operation and supplied the intelligence that led to the strikes.
According to Tuggar, the action was part of ongoing counter-terrorism cooperation between Nigeria and the United States and was not driven by religious considerations.
“It’s Nigeria that provided the intelligence. I was on the phone yesterday for 19 minutes with the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. We spoke extensively, and we agreed that I was going to speak with President Tinubu for President Tinubu to give the go-ahead,” Tuggar said.
He emphasized Nigeria’s commitment to unity and security:
“We are a multi-religious country, and we are working with partners like the US to fight terrorism and safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians.”
Controversy and New Footage
The airstrikes came shortly after President Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, claiming Christians faced an “existential threat” amounting to “genocide” — an assertion rejected by the Federal Government.
On January 11, 2026, footage obtained by Sunday PUNCH showed extensive damage from the strikes, including destroyed terrorist hideouts and vehicles. The video indicated that multiple terrorists were killed.
The footage showed three separate strikes conducted between December 24 and 25, 2025, with a secondary explosion following the first strike — suggesting the presence of explosive materials at the site. Suspected terrorists were also seen fleeing the area after the initial bombardment.
