Abubakar Hashim
The joint “precision strike operations” by the US, in collaboration with Nigeria, against two “Islamic State ISIS” terrorist enclaves, located within the Bauni Forest of Tangaza Local Government of Sokoto in Northern Nigeria yesterday, was a result of intensive and robust diplomatic engagements (shoes on ground), and not outright military deployment (boots on ground).
Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Mohamed Idris, confirmed in a press statement that “ the precision strike operations were executed between midnight and 1.30 am on Friday, 26 December 2025, on Boxing Day”.
The country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, also revealed,“ President Tinubu gave the approval for the US strike, after a 19-minute and later 5-minute phone discussions with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio.”
According to the Information Minister, the strike was carried out under “established command and control structures, with the full involvement of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, under the supervision of the Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs as well as the Chief of Defence Staff”.
The Information Minister also revealed that the “strikes were launched from maritime platforms in the Gulf of Guinea, after extensive intelligence gathering, operational planning and reconnaissance”. He went on to confirm that “a total of 16 GPS-guided precision munitions were deployed, using MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial platforms, successfully neutralising the targeted ISIS elements penetrating Nigeria from the Sahel “.
The December 26 midnight operations that lasted 1 hour 30 minutes, were successful due to rigorous and intense diplomatic engagements between the two countries since November 2025.
The diplomatic relations between the two countries have undergone a series of twists and turns, severe and cordial.
It was in 1978 under late President Jimmy Carter, during his historic state visit to Nigeria under military President Obasanjo, that Nigeria and the US renewed cordial diplomatic relations.
The relations turned sour under the late Sanni Abacha, who damned the US and turned to Asia.
The relations between the two countries now take a new turn, since the second coming of Obasanjo as civilian President in 1999, strengthened by the late Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari and now Tinubu
The successful US strike in Nigeria yesterday was, a result of diplomatic shoes on the ground, not military boots on ground
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