Timbuktu Institute – March 2026

Nigeria has turned to foreign intervention to navigate their escalating security crisis. At the end of 2025, the US military bombed northern Nigeria in coordination with the Nigerian government, targeting jihadist terrorist groups in the region. Shortly after, in February 2026 it was confirmed that the US government would be sending troops to Nigeria to train and support the Nigerian military with jihadist violence in the north. These actions come after a period of tension between the U.S government and Nigeria. The Trump administration claimed the Nigerian government was ignoring and potentially allowing the mass killings of Nigerian Christians, which Nigerian President Tinubu strongly denied. Trump’s engagement with Nigeria is seemingly driven by religion, as his administration and political supporters are using a narrative of Christian persecution by Muslim actors, to justify military intervention.

Nigeria’s Security Situation

Nigeria’s current security problems are multifaceted with no singular narrative.  For nearly 15 years, the northeast of the country has been impacted by terrorist violence from jihadist militant groups. Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) and Boko Haram have been terrorizing communities in this region with violent attacks. In the northwest, organized armed groups locally called bandits, carry out kidnappings for ransom. These types of attacks have become increasingly common, with these bandit groups kidnapping individuals but also cattle, and raiding villages. Then, resource competition, exacerbated by climate change, has escalated tensions between herding and farming communities in the middle belt region of the country. This has resulted in violent clashes, exposing ethnic and religious tensions. While in the south, separatist agitation persists. The Nigerian government struggles to control these situations.

During this complex domestic security situation, the US government under the new leadership of President Trump began to question the Nigerian government about violence against Christians in the country. In late 2025, President Trump accused the Nigerian government of ignoring or even allowing widespread killings of Christians. He threatened diplomatic and military actions if the situation was not addressed. Nigerian President Bobi Ahmed Tinubu denied the accusations that Nigeria allows Christians to be killed, emphasizing that terrorism impacts all Nigerians. Then on December 25, President Trump announced a successful military strike in northern Nigeria. The US military struck several sites in the northwestern state Sokoto targeting jihadist militant groups. According to the US military, a military vessel in the Gulf of Guinea fired around a dozen Tomahawk missiles, striking approximately four locations. Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar stated it was a joint military operation with the United States. 

From Religious Advocacy to Military Action

There has been growing concern from US right wing religious groups and politicians about violence towards Christians in Nigeria. While there are well-documented incidents of violence perpetrated against Christian Nigerians, violence in Nigeria is widespread and impacts all communities. In March 2025, the United States Congress held a hearing titled “Conflict and Persecution in Nigeria: The Case for a CPC Designation”. Members of Congress called on President Trump to designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). This designation is given by the US State Department for countries considered to engage in violations of religious freedoms. Once a country has this designation, the US government can take diplomatic action against the government, with severe actions such as withholding aid or economic sanctions. The situation escalated when in October, a letter was written to President Trump from 30 different Christian organizations about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, and to officially designate Nigeria a country of particular concern. On 31 October, President Trump re-instated Nigeria to the CPC list, threatening military action if the Nigerian government did not attempt to stop the killing of Christians by Islamist terrorists. Then in early December, a delegation of US Congress members visited Abuja on a fact-finding mission where they heard from government officials, victims of violence, and religious leaders and organizations from Benue state in the middle belt region. The military strikes were carried out a few weeks after the visit. Despite new military cooperation between the US and Nigeria, a bill was introduced in US Congress in February 2026 that threatens visa bans and asset freezes on specific Nigerians accused of religious freedom abuses. 

Targets of the Missile Strike

The US military confirmed that the missile strikes were successful in targeting training camps for an ISIS affiliated group in Sokoto state. There are no reported casualties at this time, but residents of nearby villages reported seeing fighters fleeing on motorbikes. Local reports say the strikes hit training camps of the Lakurawa group, who are a Islamic group the Nigerian government designated a terrorist organization in January 2025. Lakurawa arrived in Nigeria in 2017, after being invited by local communities for protection from bandit groups. They are situated in a remote area of Sokoto state near the border of Niger and are believed to have come from Mali and Niger and are not Nigerian. Despite initially arriving with intentions to provide protection for vulnerable communities in an isolated part of the country, they now rule over the area with fear, imposing strict interpretations of Islam.  Both US and Nigerian officials assert Lakurawa is affiliated to Islamic State (IS) groups in the Sahel but their connection to IS is disputed by researchers. Lakurawa operates in northwest Nigeria, while most Islamic terrorist groups such as Boko Haram are in northeastern Nigeria.

It is unclear on why the US military targeted Lakurawa with the missile strikes. The Trump administration stated their intervention was an attempt to protect Christians in Nigeria. Sokoto state, where the strikes were sent, is a majority Muslim area like most of Northern Nigeria, and more specifically the communities impacted by Lakurawa are Muslim. It is surprising that larger Islamist terrorist groups such as Boko Haram or ISWAP were not targeted, which are in the northeast. In the months before the strikes, US politicians specifically discussed violence against Christians in clashes between herder and farming communities in the middle belt region. When members of the US Congress visited Abuja in early December, they specifically met with people from Benue state in the middle belt, a conflict happening in a different part of the country than where the missile strikes were launched.

Looking Forward

In the White House’s 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS), US engagement with Africa should recognize Islamist terrorist activity without long-term American presence or commitments. The US’s recent engagement with Nigeria under Trump is addressing violence from jihadist groups but is increasing the US’s military presence. After the air strikes in December, the US military sent 100 US soldiers northeastern Nigeria to assist and train local forces. Despite the NSS policy on Africa, the right-wing Christian movement to protect Christian Nigerians has motivated the Trump administration make military commitments to the Nigerian government.

Prepared with Saveena Suri, Research Intern, Peace & Security