The Federal Government has confirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a joint precision strike operation with the United States against Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist enclaves operating inside Nigeria.
According to an official statement released on Friday, the coordinated military action targeted two major ISIS camps located in the Bauni forest axis of Tangaza Local Government Area, Sokoto State. Intelligence reports indicated that the locations served as assembly and staging grounds for foreign ISIS fighters infiltrating Nigeria from the Sahel region in collaboration with local terror cells.
The strikes were carried out in the early hours of Friday, December 26, 2025, between 12:12 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., following extensive intelligence gathering and reconnaissance. The operation was executed under established command and control structures with the full involvement of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and supervision by the Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs, alongside the Chief of Defence Staff.
Military sources disclosed that 16 GPS-guided precision munitions were deployed using MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial platforms launched from maritime platforms in the Gulf of Guinea. The strikes successfully neutralised the targeted ISIS elements attempting to penetrate Nigeria through the Sahel corridor.
The government acknowledged that debris from expended munitions fell in parts of Jabo in Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State and near a hotel premises in Offa, Kwara State. Authorities confirmed that no civilian casualties were recorded and that security agencies promptly secured the affected areas.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s counterterrorism stance, the Federal Government said it remains resolute in confronting transnational extremist threats and will continue to work closely with strategic partners to safeguard national sovereignty, border security, and regional stability.
The government urged Nigerians to remain calm and vigilant, assuring citizens that decisive actions are ongoing to protect lives and property across the country.
