Nigeria latest: Trump warns against 'slaughter' of Christians after strikes - but data doesn't back him

In the post just below this one, our Africa correspondent Yousra Elbagir outlines why Nigeria is in a tough spot over Washington's claims of Christian persecution.

As data shows in our 10.45 post, Muslims fall victim to violence in the country at least just as much.

We're now seeing the Nigerian government's attempt to balance its cooperation with the US without condoning its comments around Christian massacres.

Nigeria's foreign minister, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has told the BBC the strike was a "joint operation" targeting "terrorists".

And he added it "has nothing to do with a particular religion".

Without naming IS, Tuggar said the operation was in the works "for quite some time" and used Nigerian intel.

And he did not rule out further strikes, adding that depends on "decisions to be taken by the leadership of the two countries".

By Yousra Elbagir, Africa correspondent

Nigeria's government is walking a tight rope.

It has publicly acknowledged security co-ordination with the US leading to "precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by airstrikes in the northwest".

That's while it attempts to create distance from the debunked claims of Nigerian Christian persecution that come from the Oval Office in conjunction with these strikes, and reiterating: 

"Terrorist violence in any form whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities remains an affront to Nigeria's values and to international peace and security."

Terror attacks carried out by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) are known to indiscriminately target Muslims and Christians across northeast and northwest Nigeria.

On Christmas Eve, a bomb exploded in a packed mosque in the capital of Borno state, killing at least five people (see 8.08).

But Donald Trump has consistently claimed that ISIS is persecuting Christians there and, after the US strikes, posted on social media: ⁠

"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!"

The Nigerian government will have to work to assure its public that security cooperation with the US does not mean they are lending credibility to these claims.

The Trump administration will also have to pacify its base.

This is the third documented US foreign military intervention against ISIS in the span of a week.

The US military carried out strikes in Syria, Somalia and, now, Nigeria since 19 December - a pattern that could fuel frustration among Trump supporters who denounce US involvement in foreign wars.

Donald Trump's administration and his supporters have for a few months now been making claims around Christian massacres in Nigeria.

While it is true that Christian communities have suffered in the country - where multiple armed groups operate - data suggests Muslim violence has been reported at a similar rate.

This map shows incidents are fairly evenly spread across Muslim and Christian areas.

And when it comes to attacks on religious sites, more have been reported at mosques over the past year than at churches.

Before 2025, incidents at churches were more common.

These strikes on Nigeria were made less than a week after a US attack in Syria, as outlined in the post just below this one.

That operation had a similar stated objective to last night's - to "eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites".

A US official described it as a "large-scale" strike that hit 70 targets in areas across central Syria.

It came after three US citizens - two National Guard members and a civilian interpreter - were killed in an attack in the Syrian desert on 13 December.

"This is not the beginning of a war - it is a declaration of vengeance," Pete Hegseth, US secretary for war, said in a social media post.

"The United States of America, under President Trump's leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people."

Why did the US target Syria? Here's Yousra Elbagir to get you up to speed...

It's been a busy week on the world stage for Donald Trump, and perhaps not in ways his supporters envisaged less than a year into his second term.

Overnight strikes in Nigeria were launched after a similar operation in Syria, while tensions with Venezuela continue to rise.

In less than 45 seconds, our Africa correspondent Yousra Elbagir breaks down the issue he may face domestically as a result of these strikes in Nigeria.

To put these developments into some more context, let's go back to Donald Trump's remarks last month.

In early November, he said the US military "could be" deployed to Nigeria to stop what he described as the mass killing of Christians.

That came after he said Christianity is "facing an existential threat" in the country.

Senator Ted Cruz, a high-profile Republican, took it further, claiming Nigerian officials are allowing a "Christian genocide".

As we've outlined already, analysts actually say Muslims have been dying in greater numbers as the country grapples with militant groups.

We spoke to Nigeria's information and national orientation minister Mohammed Idris in the days after those comments from the US.

Speaking on The World with Yalda Hakim, he said the country does have "religious issues" - but people are being killed in mosques as well as churches.

Watch his interview back in the video below...

Nigeria coordinated with the US during its strikes in the northwest overnight.

As we've already outlined, the country's military is stretched in its battle against multiple armed groups (see 7.39).

The result of that is a security crisis that has killed Christians as well as Muslims.

But with Donald Trump's team solely highlighting Christian suffering, our Africa correspondent Yousra Elbagir says the Nigerian government is in a tough spot.

"I think the Nigerian government is in a very difficult position," she says.

"It may be welcoming this coordination with the US and trying to get ahead of their terrorism problem - their ISIS problem... that they've suffered from for many years - but still not wanting to kind of confirm these claims that Christians in Nigeria are persecuted more than any other religious group."

Muslim communities, she points out, have been targeted as "violently and viciously" as their Christian neighbours have been.

"So, I think it's a difficult time, where these strikes are obviously going to be loudly celebrated by the Trump administration, where Nigerian authorities want to increase coordination, cooperation," Elbagir adds.

"But, also, they don't want to confirm or give any credibility to claims of a Christian genocide that are simply not true."

The US has not said exactly which group it targeted overnight, with Donald Trump only saying they went after "ISIS terrorist scum".

But security analysts have posited the likely target was members of Lakurawa.

This group is prominent in the northwest, where the strikes happened.

Multiple analysts say Lakurawa has been active there since around 2017, when it was invited by traditional authorities in Sokoto state to protect their communities from bandits.

According to James Barnett, an Africa researcher with the Washington-based Hudson Institute, the militants "overstayed their welcome, clashing with some of the community leaders... and enforcing a harsh interpretation of sharia law that alienated much of the rural population".

Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher with Good Governance Africa, said communities now "openly say that Lakurawa are more oppressive and dangerous than the bandits they claim to protect them from". 

He added Lakurawa controls territories in Sokoto and Kebbi states, and has become known for killings, kidnapping, rape and armed robbery.

While Washington's overnight attack on IS targets in Nigeria are, it said, a defence of Christians in the country, Muslims have suffered a security crisis as well.

Just two days ago, at least five worshippers were killed and 35 others injured when a suspected suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's Borno state, in the northeast.

Police said it happened during evening prayers, while no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Islamist insurgents Boko Haram and its ISWAP faction (see 7.39 for more on them) have waged a 15-year campaign of violence targeting civilians, mosques and markets in the northeast.

Witnesses at al Adum mosque described scenes of panic as victims were rushed to hospital.

Last August, gunmen attacked a mosque and nearby homes in the northwestern state of Katsina, killing at least 50, according to local officials and residents.

For context: Nigeria is a country of more than 200 million people, which is divided between the largely Muslim north and mostly Christian south.

An Islamist insurgency has dragged on for over 15 years and is largely confined to the northeast of the country, which is majority Muslim.

While Christians have been killed, most of the victims have been Muslims, analysts say.

The US said its attacks targeted IS militants in the northwest, in a state called Sokoto.

This is where - as we outlined at 7.39 - the IS-affiliated Lakurawa operates.