Nigeria said it shared intelligence with the U.S. ahead of Christmas night airstrikes on ISIS targets in the country.
The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday that it was "engaged in structured security cooperation" with other nations, including the U.S., adding that the cooperation "led to precision hits on terrorist targets." The ministry said that the joint security efforts include the sharing of intelligence and strategic coordination.
"Nigeria reiterates that all counter-terrorism efforts are guided by the primacy of protecting civilian lives, safeguarding national unity, and upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens, irrespective of faith or ethnicity. Terrorist violence in any form whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security," the ministry wrote in a statement posted on X.
TRUMP’S WARNING TO NIGERIA OFFERS HOPE TO NATION'S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS
President Donald Trump announced the Christmas night airstrikes in northwest Nigeria, saying the targets were ISIS militants who he accused of killing Christians. The president also included a warning that further attacks would take place if the violence against Christians continued.
"Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!" Trump said Thursday on Truth Social.
"I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
"Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper," he continued. "May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues."
NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN LEADER CALLS TRUMP'S SPOTLIGHT ON VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA AN 'ANSWERED PRAYER'
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, who has been outspoken about the violence against Christians in Nigeria, praised the strikes. The ambassador said the precision strikes showed Christians in Nigeria and around the world that Trump would "fight for them."
Last month, Trump threatened to "do things in Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about" and "go into that now disgraced country guns-a-blazing."
That warning set the stage for the Christmas-night strikes, which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said fulfilled the president’s demand that the killings stop. Hegseth also included in a post on X a reference to the U.S.-Nigeria cooperation that led to the strikes.
US AMBASSADOR MICHAEL WALTZ DECLARES ATROCITIES AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA 'GENOCIDE'
"The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end," Hegseth wrote on X. "The [War Department] is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come… Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!"
Christians and Christian institutions in Nigeria have been under attack in recent months, prompting global outrage and drawing the ire of the Trump administration.
In November, armed gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church, killed two people and kidnapped dozens. The 38 abducted worshipers were freed almost a week later.
The attack on the Christ Apostolic Church was preceded and followed by attacks on Christian schools in Nigeria.
In the days before the attack, gunmen kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staffer. One of the girls managed to escape on the same day as the kidnapping, while the remaining 24 were rescued about a week later, The Associated Press reported.
Days after the attack on Christ Apostolic Church, armed attackers raided the Saint Mary's School and kidnapped more than 300 students and staff. School officials said 50 of the students were able to escape in the following days, while 253 students and 12 teachers remain captive.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
