US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the United States had carried out a “robust and deadly” attack against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria. The attack marked a major escalation in what has been a years-long struggle for Nigeria’s outstretched military, which is battling multiple armed groups.
President Trump called the insurgents “terrorist scum” and accused the group of “maliciously targeting and killing primarily innocent Christians.”
President Trump said the U.S. military “conducted a number of flawless strikes,” but later U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said Thursday’s attack was a joint operation and part of information exchange and strategic coordination between the two countries.
In November, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to prepare for action in Nigeria to counter Islamic militants.
The U.S.-launched attacks are considered important support for Nigeria’s security forces, which are often overscaled and underarmed as they battle multiple security crises in different regions.
The military has frequently carried out airstrikes targeting militant hideouts in states such as Sokoto, and Nigeria has embarked on a mass recruitment of security forces.
Cooperation with the Nigerian government
On Friday morning, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that its authorities “remain engaged in systematic security cooperation with international partners, including the United States, to address the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism.”
“This resulted in precise strikes against terrorist targets in Nigeria through airstrikes in the northwest,” the statement added.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu insisted the country had religious tolerance and said security challenges affected people “regardless of religion or region.”
President Trump previously designated Nigeria as a “country of special concern” because it posed an “existential threat” to Christians. The designation by the U.S. Secretary of State allows for sanctions against countries that commit “serious violations of religious freedom.”
Nigeria’s security crisis is affecting both the Christian majority in the south and the Muslim majority in the north, residents and security analysts say.
Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa have wreaked havoc in northeastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people, most of them Muslims, according to ACRED, a group that analyzes political violence around the world.
Armed groups operating in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, include at least two groups linked to Islamic State. One is the Islamic State of West Africa, an offshoot of Boko Haram that operates primarily in the northeast, and the other is the lesser-known Islamic State Shaher Province (ISSP), known locally as Laklawa and with a strong presence in the northwest.
U.S. and Nigerian authorities have not disclosed which organizations were targeted.
Nigeria’s insecurity is rooted in social problems
Analysts stress that Nigeria’s security crisis is a governance issue rather than a purely military one.
Motivations for attacks vary, but insurgents often take advantage of the absence of state forces and security forces in remote areas, making it easier for them to recruit. Evidence shows that these regions have some of the highest rates of poverty, hunger, and unemployment in the country.
Nigeria’s Defense Minister Christopher Musa has previously said military action can only cover 30 percent of what is needed to resolve the country’s security crisis, with the remaining 70 percent dependent on good governance.
“The absence of a state in remote communities makes it easier for non-state actors to enter and present themselves to the population as the best alternative government,” Samuel said.