US Confirms Airstrikes in Northwest Nigeria, Abuja  Acknowledges Joint Operation

By PHC Telegraph

The United States has confirmed that its warplanes carried out airstrikes against terrorist targets in northwest Nigeria, in an operation jointly authorised with Nigerian authorities under an existing bilateral security agreement.

Former US President Donald Trump disclosed the strikes, saying American forces had hit “terrorist locations” as part of Washington’s counter-terrorism efforts. Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently acknowledged the operation, describing it as consistent with the framework governing security cooperation between both countries.

The admission represents one of the clearest public confirmations to date of direct American combat involvement on Nigerian territory, a development likely to rekindle debate over sovereignty, foreign military presence and the expanding role of international partners in Nigeria’s counter-insurgency campaign.

While US and Nigerian officials have not released details of the timing, scale or specific targets of the strikes, security sources say the operation was directed at terrorist groups operating across remote areas of the North-West, where banditry and insurgent violence have increasingly overlapped. .

Officials in Abuja stressed that the operation was conducted with Nigerian consent and within agreed protocols, underscoring what they described as “deepening intelligence and operational collaboration” between both countries.
Analysts note that the public acknowledgment, rather than silence or denial, signals a shift toward greater transparency in Nigeria’s security partnerships, even as concerns persist over civilian safety, accountability and the long-term implications of foreign air operations on Nigerian soil.