Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has provided a rare glimpse into the high-level military coordination that facilitated the Christmas Day 2025 airstrikes against ISIS targets in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Speaking at the Chatham House think tank on Monday, 9th March 2026, the minister confirmed that the mission, which saw the United States deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles against extremist enclaves, was a trilateral effort. He revealed that Ghana was formally invited by both the Nigerian and American governments to collaborate on the operation, which targeted the rising threat of the Lakurawa jihadist group in Nigeria’s northwest. The ‘Sokoto Protocol’: Sovereignty vs. Security Addressing an audience of diplomats and security experts, Mr. Ablakwa used the Sokoto mission as a blueprint for future international defence pacts, including the forthcoming agreement between Ghana and the European Union. He stressed that while the threat of terrorism in the Sahel is ...