The US Secretary of War, Pete Hegeseth, has claimed that America’s military operation in Nigeria is based on President Donald Trump’s order to protect Nigerian Christians targeted by ISIS terrorists—a continued attempt to mischaracterise the security crisis in the country as Christian genocide.

Mr Hegeseth said the directive led to the killing of the Islamic State commander, Abubakar Mainok, also known as Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, who operated in the North-east region where attacks are carried out indiscriminately, with Muslims being the most affected group.

He also stated that over 100 other ISIS members operating in the North-east have been killed in operations by the US Africa Command, all due to Mr Trump’s “unwavering” commitment to protect Christians.

“He heard the calls that Nigerian Christians were being targeted by ISIS in Nigeria and said, Pete, I want the war department to focus on ensuring that we do everything we can to protect those Christians,” Mr Hegeseth said during a Press conference at the White House on Wednesday.

Mr Al-Minuki was killed during a joint US-Nigeria operation on Lake Chad island, many miles from the region the US government identified as hotspots of anti-Christian persecution. Last year, at the height of US antagonism, top US officials, including Riley Moore, Ted Cruz, and Chris Smith — all Republican lawmakers – alongside Christian lobby groups, framed the violence in the country as an anti-Christian crusade. The campaign repeatedly identified the North-central, particularly Benue and Plateau states, as the epicentre of the religious violence.

A US delegation visited Benue last December. Mr Moore, who was part of the team, described his experience as “deeply moving” and declared it would “remain with me for the rest of my life.” However, the crisis in the region, predominantly between Christian farming communities and Muslim herders, is driven by overlapping factors that officials overlooked in their campaigns. Mr Al-Minuki and his terror group are not known to operate in Benue and Plateau states.

The violence in the North-east and Lake Chad island, where the Islamic state leader was reported to have been killed, is not based on any organised, systematic effort to eliminate Christians, as claimed by the US.

However, Mr Hegseth said Mr Al-Minuki is the ISIS number two person in Nigeria and is “most responsible for the targeted killing of Christians and trying to target the US Homeland.”

Mr Trump, in his social media post on the operation that led to his death, described it as a “meticulously planned and very complex mission” carried out in partnership with Nigeria.

The joint military operation came after months of antagonism toward Nigeria, beginning with the designation as a Country of Particular Concern.

Last December, the Trump administration imposed a visa ban on Nigeria, affecting a wide range of visa categories, and three months later, it asked non-essential workers to leave the country.

However, these antagonistic relations eventually morphed into a security partnership, following a series of diplomatic trips, high-level meetings and the establishment of a joint working group led by Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the US Under Secretary of State, Allison Hooker.

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In January, the US and Nigeria also introduced the 2026 Defence Cooperation Roadmap and three weeks ago, they launched the Defence Institutional Technical Working Groups (DITWGs) in a bid to deepen military collaboration.

US military support to Nigeria is also said to include the deployment of about 200 troops and MQ-9 surveillance drones.

US and Nigerian officials said the drones, capable of long-endurance surveillance, are being used strictly for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, with American personnel operating in advisory roles and not embedded on the front lines.

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