The US president claimed the airstrikes were against ISIL and that ISIL was targeting Christians.
“It’s here to stay”: These are the words of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after the country launched a series of airstrikes against ISIL (ISIS) in northwestern Nigeria.
Hegseth said the aim was to stop the group from killing so-called “innocent Christians.”
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Back in November, President Donald Trump warned that the United States would take action against the organization if the Nigerian government continued to tolerate what he said was targeting Christians.
Many claim that President Trump received pressure from his right-wing Christian base in the United States to carry out the recent attack in Nigeria. But what might be the impact on an African country with a very complex religious makeup?
Presenter: Adrian Finnihan
guest:
Malik Samuel – Senior Researcher, Good Governance Africa
Ebenezer Obadare – Senior Fellow in African Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
David Otto – Deputy Director of Counter-Terrorism Training at the International Academy for Combating Terrorism
Published December 27, 2025
