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On Christmas Day, U.S. forces unleashed targeted missile and drone strikes in Nigeria against Islamist terrorists who had been killing Christians and other civilians with impunity.
It propelled Nigeria into the headlines and caught many Americans unaware of the growing conflict in Africa between Christians, radical Islam, and others that is spreading across the sub-Saharan Sahel region.
But I had just been on a fact-finding mission to Nigeria a week earlier and, although U.S. Africa Command’s kinetic action was a surprise, it was not entirely unexpected. In November, President Donald Trump had made clear to Nigeria’s leaders that they had to do more to combat terrorism. This strike resulted from close cooperation between Nigerian and American military planners.
In the nation’s capital, Abuja, I knelt in the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria the weekend before Christmas and prayed with Christians who live, work and worship in a capital that — at least for now — still feels normal. Kids fidgeted in the pews. Families sang. It wasn’t that different than my parish at home in Spokane, Washington.
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Yet, at the same time, in the middle belt of Nigeria, Christian farmers went to sleep wondering if armed men will come in the night — if their village would be raided, their church burned, their pastor threatened, their daughters taken, their sons killed, their farms looted.
That contrast — peace in the capital, fear in the countryside — is why our congressional delegation came to meet with government officials.
We met with faith leaders, Christians and others, who described what it means to live under threat. The scale is staggering. Estimates in the congressional record say more than 7,000 Christians were killed in 2025 and over 19,000 churches have been attacked or destroyed; and Vatican News reports more than 52,000 Christians have been killed since 2009.
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Islamic terrorism is not a problem we can wish away and Nigeria is far more vital to American security than most people realize.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest country, and before 2050 it is projected to grow to a population of 400 million, to the third most populous overtaking the United States. It is home to vast oil and mineral resources, including rare earths, but the unstable political situation keeps one of the world’s most significant democracies in the slow lane.
As we start a new year, Americans will move on from the Christmas headlines. Nigeria can’t. And neither should we.
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Nigeria is plagued with multiple violent groups, from criminal gangs to an Islamic extremist dimension: Boko Haram and ISIS-linked terrorists in the Northeast, and — far closer to Nigeria’s heartland — Fulani jihadi militias that have terrorized rural communities, driven families off their land, and made ordinary life impossible.
The Nigerian government faces real challenges. The Fulani jihadi militias in parts of the Middle Belt are a solvable test of political will: disarm the militias, arrest and prosecute ringleaders, and provide basic protection so Christian farmers can stay on their land. The Boko Haram/ISIS-linked insurgency will require harder, longer effort — it is an entrenched network with transnational ties that recruits, holds territory, and grows.
Islamic terrorism is not a problem we can wish away and Nigeria is far more vital to American security than most people realize.
We met with Nigerian officials to hear how they assess the threat and where they need help. The best conversations were frank: Nigeria’s security services are stretched; the country is trying to keep core areas secure while violence persists in the periphery; and the fight is not only military — it’s about governance, accountability and public trust.
America cannot — and should not — try to be the world’s policeman. But “not policing the world” does not mean closing our eyes to real terrorist threats.
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America does not have to commit boots on the ground and drift into the forever wars of the past two decades to make a difference: supplying weapons, as we have done in Ukraine, and targeted strikes, like those that brought the Houthis and Iranian mullahs to heel, can have a decisive impact.
U.S. engagement is key: improving intelligence cooperation, targeting the financing networks that profit from kidnapping, and backing reforms that make security forces more professional and more trusted.
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At the same time, we could learn from the Israelis who have made it clear that killing Israeli Jews will be met with fierce retribution, no matter where it happens. We should have the backbone to say the same about Christian communities, with our words — and with our Tomahawk missiles.
In Abuja, I prayed in peace. Not far away, families prayed just to survive the night. The Christmas strike on ISIS was a reminder that jihadist terror is still expanding — and Nigeria is on the front line. Religious freedom is worth defending. And America cannot pretend this threat doesn’t matter. Nigeria’s leaders need to act now by protecting communities, ending impunity, and proving the state can govern.
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