United States (US) President, Donald Trump, has confirmed that the US collaborated with Nigeria to conduct air strikes on ISIS targets in Sokoto on Christmas Day.
Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Trump said, “On Christmas Day in close coordination with the government of Nigeria, we worked with them, but they’ve got to get tougher.”
He explained that the strikes, carried out at Nigeria’s request, resulted in the deaths of “multiple ISIS terrorists” and were intended to “decimate the ISIS terrorists who have been slaughtering Christians in that country by the thousands.”
Trump further emphasised the significance of the timing, stating, “We hit them so hard they still don’t know what the hell happened. And we were going to do it on a different day. I said no, do it on Christmas. So they understand it.”“I specifically told Pete, I said hit them on Christmas Day, not earlier and not later. And man, did he hit them. So then we hit them again recently. We hit them again pretty hard,” Trump said.
According to the US Department of Defense, the strike was carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities, resulting in the deaths of “multiple ISIS terrorists.”
However, Trump had previously announced on December 26, 2025,that “powerful and deadly” strikes had been launched against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria after he warned the group to stop targeting Christians.Tribune Online reports that Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, was also in attendance at the National Prayer Breakfast, a yearly gathering of global political and religious leaders, in Washington D.C.
During his address at the gathering, Trump acknowledged her presence, praising her as a “very respected woman” and highlighting her role as a Christian pastor at one of Nigeria’s largest churches.
“We are honoured to be joined today by the First Lady of Nigeria, who also happens to serve as a Christian pastor at the largest church in Nigeria — a very respected woman. Thank you very much, it’s a great honour, a very respected person too,” Trump said, drawing applause from the audience.
