—– Says the airstrikes were carried out through inter-agency collaboration, adding that official comments should come from defence authorities rather than the police.
The Nigeria Police Force has explained its decision not to disclose details of the recent United States airstrikes carried out against terrorist enclaves in Sokoto State, describing the operation as a sensitive defence matter.
Speaking on Tuesday during Channels Television’s Politics Today, the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin, said the police possess intelligence related to the strikes but would not make such information public.
According to Hundeyin, the police are deeply involved in intelligence gathering and sharing, but certain operations require discretion in the interest of national security. “We engage a lot in intelligence gathering, not just intelligence sharing. As the Police Force, we know certain things about the strikes, but we don’t want to talk about them. We decline to talk about that particular operation,” he said.
“There was a cooperation, but we would rather leave it as a defence matter that the defence would talk about,” Hundeyin stated.
The police spokesman was reacting to reports of U.S. airstrikes conducted on December 25, 2025, targeting terrorist strongholds in northwestern Nigeria. Despite widespread public interest, details of the operation and its full impact have not been officially disclosed by Nigerian authorities.
U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier confirmed the Christmas Day strikes via his official Truth handle, stating that the U.S. Department of War carried out what he described as “deadly” and “precise” attacks against Islamic State terrorists operating in the region.
Trump claimed the militants had been responsible for violent attacks, particularly against Christians, and warned that the United States would not tolerate the activities of radical terrorist groups.
Similarly, the U.S. Department of Defence confirmed that multiple ISIS fighters were killed during the operation, which it said was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.
While the strikes have drawn international attention, Nigerian security agencies continue to maintain silence on operational specifics, citing security and strategic concerns.