Why has Trump ordered ‘powerful strikes’ in Nigeria?

Donald Trump has hailed ‘powerful and deadly’ US strikes carried out on Christmas Day against an Islamic State branch in Nigeria. 

The US president said ‘perfect’ hits had been carried out against ‘ISIS terrorist scum’ in the operation targeting camps run by the group in the country’s north-west. 

The Pentagon reported that an ‘initial assessment’ had suggested ‘multiple’ fatalities after the strikes in Sokoto state on the border with Niger. Trump said that the group had been ‘targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.’  

A video uploaded to X by the US Department of War yesterday showed missiles being launched from a warship.  

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC the strikes were a ‘joint operation’ and had been planned ‘for quite some time’. 

The West African country’s foreign ministry said that ‘co-operation’ with the US had ‘led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria.’  

The action follows statements by Trump that Christians are being systematically targeted by jihadists in Nigeria — although these claims have been thrown into question by monitoring groups. 

Here’s what is known so far: 

Why is the US striking targets in Nigeria?

A web of jihadist groups, including Boko Haram and a related ISIS franchise, has been present in Nigeria for more than a decade.

However the expansion into the north-west of the country is thought to be a fairly recent development.  

The Trump administration has previously made statements suggesting that Christians are being targeted by extremists in Nigeria and that the government is failing to protect them.  

In October, the US president warned that Christianity is facing an ‘existential threat’ in the West African country. 

However Abuja says that armed groups are targeting both Muslims and Christians amid a complex security situation. 

The figures used to justify Trump’s claims have also been thrown into question by monitoring groups.

What has Trump said about the strikes?

In a Christmas Day social media post, Trump said: ‘Tonight, at my direction as commander in chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against Isis terrorist scum in northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even centuries! 

‘I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.

‘Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.’

What is happening to Christians in Nigeria?

Islamist militants are systematically killing civilians in the country, according to Trump and other prominent figures in America.  

TV host Bill Maher has described the situation as ‘genocide’, while Texas senator Ted Cruz claims that more than 50,000 Christians have been ‘massacred’ since 2009, although he described it as ‘persecution’. 

Cruz and Trump have accused Abuja of ignoring the killings.

However, the BBC has found that some of the data behind these stark conclusions is difficult to verify.

Officials in Nigeria have said that the terrorists are attacking Muslims, Christians and anyone else outside of their extreme ideology.  

Acled, which monitors violence in West Africa, raised questions over a figure posted on social media stating that jihadists had killed more than 100,000 Christians since 2009. 

The independent conflict monitoring group found that this figure would include all acts of political violence in the country, rather than just those aimed at one faith.  

Who are the jihadist groups in Nigeria?

The most well-known Islamic terror group is Boko Haram. 

Founded in 2002, the group is primarily based in Nigeria’s north-east, although its activities have spread into other regions and over the country’s borders, including Niger. 

Atrocities include suicide bombings, attacks on schools, the burning of villages and hundreds of abductions, including 276 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in 2014. 

In 2015, Boko Haram declared allegiance to ISIS and rebranded itself as Islamic State in the West African Province (ISWAP).

A split then occurred, with Boko Haram continuing indiscriminate violence, while also becoming known as Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad, while ISWAP presented itself as a group that cared about civilians.  

However, the latter’s promises evaporated amid attacks and raids on villagers, one of which was a massacre of 100 civilians, according to human security organisation the Institute for Security Studies. 

Nigeria’s security picture is further complicated by regular clashes between predominantly Muslim Fulani herders and farming groups of Muslim and Christian faiths over access to dwindling natural resources. 

The Fulani herders have been described as ‘jihadists’, but ethnic tensions and competition over increasingly scarce water and land have been cited by analysts as reasons for the violence. 

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