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Old footage from Côte d’Ivoire used to depict US Christmas military strike in Sokoto

Nurudeen Akewushola
Nurudeen Akewushola
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screenshot of the viral post purportedly showing military airstrike in Sokoto
screenshot of the viral post purportedly showing military airstrike in Sokoto

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A video circulating on social media falsely claims to show footage from a United States military strike carried out in Sokoto State, targeting terrorists on Christmas Day.

The clip, which shows a missile strike and destruction of buildings, has been widely shared alongside captions suggesting it captures a recent U.S. military operation ordered by President Donald Trump in response to attacks on Christians in northern Nigeria.

On December 25, 2025, an X user, dom_lucre who has over 1.6 million followers, posted the video with the caption:

“BREAKING: President Trump designated a deadly attack on ISIS in Nigeria as a Christmas gift in response to their attacks on Christians.”

As of December 31, 2025, the post had generated over 4000 reposts and more than 30,000 likes.

READ : Old image falsely used to depict airstrike in Kwara

Similar versions of the video were also circulated on X accounts such as here, where many users praised the alleged action and expressed support for the U.S. president.

CLAIM

Video shows footage from a US military trike carried out in Sokoto on December 25, 2025.

screenshot of the viral post purportedly showing military airstrike in Sokoto

FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.

A review of the footage reveals that it is not recent and does not show any military operation in Nigeria. Reverse image and video searches traced the clip to earlier uploads on YouTube dating back to 2011. One version was published by Abidjan.netTV while another appeared on AFP.

The footage was linked to political unrest in Côte d’Ivoire following the disputed 2010 presidential election between Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara.

READ ALSO : No, viral video does NOT show U.S. military strike on terrorist targets in Sokoto

There is no evidence that the video is connected to any US military operation in Nigeria. The visuals predate the alleged Sokoto strike by more than a decade and were taken in a different country altogether.

VERDICT

The claim that the video shows a US military trike in Sokoto State or any recent military action in Nigeria is MISLEADING. It was filmed during the 2011 post-election crisis in Côte d’Ivoire and has been falsely linked to current events.

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Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.

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