How US Warship Fired Dozen Tomahawk Missiles Into Sokoto State, Nigeria

Nigeria’s cooperation with the United States over a Christmas Day airstrike targeting Islamic State militants in the country’s northwest had a great impact, as about a dozen Tomahawk missiles were launched into Sokoto State.

The strikes came from a U.S. Navy warship stationed in the Gulf of Guinea.

This was confirmed by a US Defence official who spoke with Reuters.

About a month earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump had publicly signalled the possibility of direct American military intervention in Nigeria if the government failed to act decisively against Islamist militants operating in the region.

On Thursday, Trump announced via his Truth Social platform that U.S. forces had carried out an airstrike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria’s government, claiming the group had been “targeting Christians in the region.”

Local media reported loud explosions in Jabo village on Christmas Day evening, although Reuters said it could not independently confirm whether there were casualties.

Speaking on Friday, Trump disclosed that the strike had originally been scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed by his directive.

“They were going to do it earlier,” Trump told Politico in an interview. “And I said, ‘nope, let’s give a Christmas present.’ … They didn’t think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated.”

A U.S. defence official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the strike involved “about a dozen Tomahawk missiles” launched from a U.S. Navy warship stationed in the Gulf of Guinea.

The Nigerian government later confirmed it had authorised the operation. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said Nigeria acted jointly with the United States but rejected claims that the strike targeted any religious group.

“Nigeria is a multi-religious country, and we’re working with partners like the U.S. to fight terrorism and protect lives and property,” Tuggar said during an interview on Channels Television.

Despite the dramatic nature of the strike, security experts remain divided over its long-term impact. While U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declared on X that there was “more to come,” a U.S. official told Reuters that another strike was not imminent, though future operations were not ruled out.

According to the official, the United States carried out the operation partly because the location was “too remote for Nigerian forces to reach.”

“It’s partially symbolic,” the official said, adding that the strike was also intended as deterrence and to signal that the Trump administration was “prepared to use the military.”

However, analysts warn that such airstrikes may do little to significantly weaken Islamist militants who have, for years, terrorised rural communities across northern Nigeria.