United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in its fight against insurgency, stating that the U.S. military will continue to collaborate with Nigerian authorities in tackling terrorist threats. Hegseth said the U.S. Department of Defence has been acting on directives from President Donald Trump, whom he said is determined to protect Christians facing attacks from extremist groups.
Speaking during a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, Hegseth linked the policy to recent military operations that led to the killing of Islamic State commander Abubakar Mainok, also known as Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, and more than 100 other ISIS fighters in Nigeria’s northeast region.
“He (Trump) 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,” Hegseth said.
He further described Al-Minuki as the ISIS “number two person in Nigeria” who was “most responsible for the targeted killing of Christians and trying to target the U.S. homeland."
Al-Minuki was reportedly killed during a joint U.S.-Nigeria military operation on an island in Lake Chad, far from the areas frequently identified by American officials as centres of anti-Christian violence.
Despite repeated claims from some U.S. lawmakers and Christian advocacy groups that Christians are being specifically targeted in Nigeria, the Nigerian government has consistently maintained that insurgent attacks are not religiously selective, noting that both Christians and Muslims have been victims of the violence.
Last year, several prominent Republican lawmakers, including Riley Moore, Ted Cruz, and Chris Smith, alongside Christian lobby organisations, described the violence in Nigeria as an anti-Christian campaign. Their focus was largely on north-central states such as Benue and Plateau, where clashes between farming communities and herders have persisted.
A U.S. delegation that visited Benue in December described the situation as alarming. Moore, who was part of the visit, said the experience was “deeply moving” and would “remain with me for the rest of my life.”
However, analysts and Nigerian officials have repeatedly argued that the conflict in Benue and Plateau is rooted in complex issues, including land disputes, ethnic tensions, and competition over resources, rather than an organised religious extermination campaign.
The Islamic State faction led by Al-Minuki is also not known to operate in those north-central states.
President Trump, reacting to the operation that eliminated the insurgent leader, described it on social media as a “meticulously planned and very complex mission” conducted in partnership with Nigeria.