Following Washington’s operations against terrorists of the so-called Islamic State (IS) organization in northwest Nigeria last month, the Nigerian air force is expected to take over from the US.
As part of a new security agreement with Washington, a Nigerian official told the AFP news agency on Tuesday that the nation’s fighter jets would utilize intelligence from US reconnaissance flights to support their own airstrikes.
According to the person, Nigeria is still vulnerable to more US strikes similar to those that occurred on Christmas Day.
On December 26, US President Donald Trump declared that the US has launched “powerful and deadly” strikes against IS militants in the Sokoto state of Nigeria.
Trump claimed that “viciously targeting and killing mostly innocent Christians” were the “terrorist scum” that the strikes were intended to target. Although US and Nigerian officials claimed that militants were killed in the strikes, the exact number of victims remains unknown.
Nigeria, which is fighting many armed groups, claimed last month that the US strikes were a part of a strategic coordination and intelligence exchange between the two countries.
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar stated that the attacks had “nothing to do with a particular religion,” in contrast to Trump’s remarks regarding Christian victims of violence.
This was similar to remarks made by Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who stated that people are impacted by security issues “irrespective of religions and regions.”
Both Christians, who make up the majority in the south, and Muslims, who make up the majority in the north, are impacted by Nigeria’s security situation, according to locals and security analysts.
At least two IS-affiliated organizations are among the armed groups active in Nigeria: the lesser-known Islamic State’s Shahel Province (ISSP), also known locally as Lakurawa, which is heavily represented in the northwest, and the Islamic State of West Africa, a Boko Haram offshoot that primarily operates in the northeast.
Trump claims that the US has launched “numerous” strikes against Islamic State militants in Nigeria. According to ACLED, a group that studies political violence, jihadist organizations like Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa have wreaked havoc in northeastern Nigeria for over ten years, killing thousands of people, the majority of whom were Muslims.
In an effort to stop what he described as Christian persecution, Trump directed the Pentagon to start preparing for possible military action in Nigeria in November.
Nigeria was previously named a “country of particular concern” by the US president because of the “existential threat” it posed to its Christian community.
As a result, the United States is able to impose sanctions on nations who are “engaged in serious violations of religious freedom.”
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