A United States congressman, Riley Moore, has disclosed that President Donald Trump personally ordered the joint Nigerian-American military operation that led to the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the second-in-command of the global Islamic State (ISIS) network.
Moore, a Republican member of the House Appropriations Committee, made the revelation during an interview on NewsNation with anchor Anna Kooiman while discussing the growing security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States, particularly in the fight against terrorism and religious persecution in north-eastern Nigeria.
According to the congressman, the successful strike sends a strong warning to extremist groups targeting Christians and civilians in Nigeria.
“The strike on Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, ISIS Number 2 globally, sends a clear message: those who target innocent Christians will be hunted down and brought to justice. Do not test President Trump’s resolve,” Moore said in a statement shared on his X account.
He stated that the Trump administration had intensified its engagement with Nigeria following the designation of the country as a “nation of particular concern” over religious persecution on October 31 last year.
Moore further revealed that President Trump personally assigned him to investigate allegations of Christian persecution and violence in Nigeria.
“President Trump tasked me personally to go investigate this issue of Christian persecution, Christian genocide in Nigeria,” he said.
“I travelled to Nigeria with my colleagues from the Appropriations Committee and put together a report that we presented to the White House with key recommendations on how to protect vulnerable populations suffering at the hands of Islamic radical terrorists.”
The lawmaker stressed that the US president remains deeply committed to addressing insecurity and religious violence in Nigeria.
“This is something the president is acutely focused on, as he should be, and so am I,” Moore added.
He also traced American involvement in counterterrorism efforts in Nigeria to the rise of Boko Haram more than a decade ago.
“We’ve been involved now for close to a year, though this has been on and off since prior to 2015 with the emergence of Boko Haram,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters confirmed that al-Minuki was killed during what it described as a “meticulously planned and highly coordinated” precision strike carried out in the Lake Chad Basin.
The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, said the slain terrorist commander played a major role within ISIS globally, overseeing weapons manufacturing, drone technology development, international media operations, and strategic coordination for ISIS affiliates outside Nigeria.
According to intelligence reports, al-Minuki was recently elevated to Head of the ISIS General Directorate of States — considered the second-highest office within the terrorist organisation’s global structure.
The terrorist leader had been placed under US sanctions in 2023 because of his links to ISIS.
Before pledging allegiance to ISIS in 2015, al-Minuki was reportedly a senior commander within Boko Haram and was linked to the 2018 Dapchi schoolgirls kidnapping involving more than 100 students in Dapchi.
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