After months of warning that the US may take army motion to cease violence in opposition to Christians in Nigeria, President Donald Trump introduced on Christmas Day that he had accomplished simply that – delivering a strike on Islamic State terrorists in the nation’s northwest.
Nigeria’s overseas ministry confirmed that the 2 nations had coordinated on the strike, and one presidential adviser stated the US and Nigeria have been “on the same page in the fight against terrorism.”
Details are nonetheless rising concerning the strike, which got here after Trump threatened to droop help to Nigeria over violence against Christians, even calling on his secretary of protection to “prepare for possible action” in opposition to Africa’s most populous nation in November.
But the fact on the bottom is extra nuanced than Trump’s characterization suggests, consultants and analysts have instructed NCS this yr. Both Christians and Muslims – the 2 predominant non secular teams in the nation of greater than 230 million folks – have been victims of assaults by radical Islamists, they are saying.
Here’s what it’s good to know.
Nigeria has grappled for years with deep-rooted safety issues pushed by varied elements together with religiously motivated assaults.
The nation has roughly equal numbers of Christians – who’re predominantly in the south – and Muslims, who’re primarily concentrated in the north.
In 2012, the Islamist group Boko Haram issued an ultimatum, ordering Christians in the northern area to go away whereas calling on Muslims in the south to “come back” to the north. Most focused killings in latest years have been in the north.
Besides Boko Haram, there’s additionally a lesser-known Lakurawa group outstanding in northwestern states – which safety analysts stated may have been the goal of Thursday’s strikes. The Lakurawa group has change into more and more lethal this yr, typically concentrating on distant communities and safety forces, and hiding in the forests between states, Reuters reported.
Observers say different violent conflicts come up from communal and ethnic tensions, in addition to disputes between farmers and herders over restricted entry to land and water.
Yes – although that’s solely a part of the image.
John Joseph Hayab, a pastor who leads the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the nation’s northern area, agrees with Trump’s declare of “systematic killings of Christians” in that space.
The scale of the killings has diminished in the final two years, he stated. However, this yr has seen a spate of high-profile assaults in predominantly Christian pockets of the north, which has drawn worldwide consideration and condemnation.
In April, gunmen believed to be Muslim herders killed at least 40 people in a largely Christian farming village. Two months later, greater than 100 folks have been massacred in Yelwata, a largely Christian group in the southeastern state of Benue, according to Amnesty International.
The killings have been seized upon amongst elements of the Christian evangelical proper in the US. In August, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas introduced a bill calling for sanctions in opposition to Nigeria for purported violations of non secular freedom.
Muslims have additionally been victims of focused assaults by Islamist teams in search of to impose their excessive interpretation of Islamic legislation.
At least 50 worshippers were killed in August when gunmen attacked a mosque in the northwestern state of Katsina, and lots of equally brutal assaults have been carried out in Muslim communities by Boko Haram and different armed teams in the north.
“Yes, these (extremist) groups have sadly killed many Christians. However, they have also massacred tens of thousands of Muslims,” stated Bulama Bukarti, a Nigerian human rights advocate specializing in safety and improvement.
He added that assaults in public areas disproportionately hurt Muslims, as these radical teams function in predominantly Muslim states.
What little information exists additionally doesn’t assist Trump’s claims that Christians are being disproportionately focused.
Out of greater than 20,400 civilians killed in assaults between January 2020 and September 2025, 317 deaths have been from assaults concentrating on Christians whereas 417 have been from assaults concentrating on Muslims, in line with disaster monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data.
The group didn’t embody the non secular affiliation of the overwhelming majority of the civilians killed.
In November, Trump designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” below the US International Religious Freedom Act – which suggests his administration has discovered that Nigeria has engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, (and) egregious violations of religious freedom.”
But the Nigerian authorities rejected claims that it was not doing sufficient to guard Christians from violence. At the time, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu stated that “the characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality.”
However, a number of consultants and analysts instructed NCS they believed the federal government wanted to raised shield all residents – as persons are being impacted by mass killings no matter their religions or backgrounds.
Tinubu has not but publicly commented on Thursday’s strike, however earlier in the day, had shared a Christmas message on social media.
“I stand committed to doing everything within my power to enshrine religious freedom in Nigeria and to protect Christians, Muslims, and all Nigerians from violence,” he wrote.