Nigeria has opened the door to a dramatic escalation in American military involvement, with officials suggesting they haven’t ruled out accepting US troops on the ground following Christmas Day airstrikes. Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar told CNN the issue would be something for the Nigerian government to “consider” when asked about Trump’s recent threats to send in the US military “guns-a-blazing.” The statement marks a significant shift from airstrikes to potentially having American servicemen operating within Nigerian territory, something Trump has explicitly suggested in recent weeks.
The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that the Nigerian government approved the Christmas strikes and collaborated with the US military to carry them out, establishing a framework for joint operations. President Bola Tinubu has publicly stated that Nigeria “welcomes” American help, though analysts suggest the government’s cooperation may partly stem from efforts to avert humiliating unilateral military action that Trump threatened a month ago. Nigerian officials have not elaborated on specific timelines or conditions for accepting US troops, leaving the possibility deliberately vague while signaling openness to expanded cooperation.
However, Tuggar pushed back forcefully on Trump’s framing of the conflict as religious persecution of Christians by Muslim terrorists. He rejected characterizing the violence as primarily targeting Christians, stating the action “would show clearly that it is a strike against terrorism… and that it is not to do with religion, is to do with protecting Nigerians and innocent lives.” The minister emphasized to Nigerian broadcaster Channels Television, “When you try to reduce it to just say, ‘Oh, no, it’s Muslims killing Christians in Nigeria,’ you see how you can get it completely wrong. It’s a regional conflict.”
Trump announced the “powerful and deadly” strike on ISIS “terrorist scum” in Nigeria on Christmas Day, warning that radicals will continue to pay for persecution. “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!” he wrote on Truth Social. The Pentagon posted video showing at least one projectile launched from a warship, with defense officials confirming multiple militants were targeted at known ISIS camps.
Nigeria’s foreign ministry framed the strikes as part of ongoing security cooperation with the United States, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups. There is a growing sense that Nigeria’s government publicly cooperated with the US to maintain sovereignty and control over the narrative, rather than face the prospect of unauthorized American military action on its soil. The careful diplomatic dance reflects Nigeria’s desire for assistance while maintaining national dignity and rejecting simplistic religious framings that could inflame sectarian tensions.
The possibility of ground troops has stirred controversy in Washington, with Democrat Representative Debbie Dingell saying Congress received “very little” information on Trump’s strikes. Dingell described the lack of information sharing from the White House as a “continuing pattern,” arguing that “it is Congress that needs to be making a lot of these decisions about escalating.” As Nigeria weighs whether to accept American boots on the ground, the decision could mark a historic expansion of US military presence in West Africa, transforming the conflict from remote airstrikes to direct engagement with one of the region’s most complex security challenges.