President Donald Trump announced on Christmas Day that the United States carried out airstrikes against ISIS-linked terrorists in Nigeria, following months of warnings and sharp criticism over what he has described as mass killings of Christians in the West African nation.
Trump has repeatedly condemned Nigeria’s security situation, calling the violence a national disgrace and accusing authorities of allowing widespread bloodshed to continue unchecked. Last month, the president said the killing of Christians in Nigeria amounted to genocide and warned that American military action was on the table.
“I think Nigeria is a disgrace. The whole thing is a disgrace,” Trump said at the time. “They’re killing people by the thousands. It’s a genocide. And I’m really angry about it.”
On Christmas night, Trump said that threat had become reality. In a Truth Social post, the president announced that U.S. forces launched a targeted strike against ISIS terrorists operating in northwestern Nigeria.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria,” Trump wrote. He said the group had been “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians” at levels not seen for generations.
Trump said he had previously warned the terrorists to stop the violence and made clear there would be consequences if they did not. “If they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” he wrote.
According to Trump, the Department of War carried out “numerous perfect strikes,” praising the U.S. military’s unmatched capabilities. He emphasized that under his leadership, the United States will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to flourish.
“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” Trump said, offering a Christmas message that also thanked the U.S. military for executing the operation.
The president’s announcement comes amid ongoing violence across Nigeria, where attacks have affected multiple religious and ethnic communities. While Trump has focused on the killing of Christians, recent incidents highlight the broader instability gripping the country.
Last month, gunmen abducted more than 50 students from a Catholic school in central Nigeria. Days later, about 25 students were kidnapped from a Muslim school in the northwest. On Thursday, a suspected suicide bomber attacked a mosque in northeastern Nigeria, killing five people.
As noted by The New York Times, the violence does not stem from a single cause. Jihadist groups have carried out attacks against both Christians and Muslims in the northeast. In the northwest, armed groups described as bandits are responsible for kidnappings and assaults often driven by economic motives.
In central Nigeria, long-running clashes between herders and farmers over land and water have fueled ethnic and religious tensions. Local residents say those disputes have increasingly been driven by land grabs carried out by powerful interests.
One consistent theme across the country is the lack of accountability. Perpetrators of violence are rarely arrested or prosecuted, and government and security officials are seldom held responsible for security failures, allowing attacks to continue with little consequence.
In November, CNN reported that Trump’s initial warning toward Nigeria followed his viewing of a Fox News segment detailing the violence there. The president’s Christmas announcement suggests that report struck a chord, leading to decisive military action.
For Trump, the strike reinforces his broader message that the United States will act forcefully against terrorism and will not ignore mass violence against religious communities. As he put it in his Christmas message, those responsible for killing Christians should expect severe consequences if the attacks continue.
[READ MORE: Trump Strikes ISIS In Nigeria]
