U.S. CONGRESSMAN WARNS NIGERIAN TERRORISTS: 'DO NOT TEST PRESIDENT TRUMP'S RESOLVE'

 

Washington, D.C., USA – By Prime Brief Media

A senior United States congressman has issued an unmistakable warning to terrorist groups operating in Nigeria, declaring that President Donald Trump's administration will not relent in pursuing those who target Christian communities. Rep. Riley Moore credited the president with personally ordering the joint U.S.-Nigerian military operation that killed the global second-in-command of the Islamic State.

In an interview on NewsNation on Sunday, Rep. Moore, a Republican from West Virginia who serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said the precision strike on Abu-Bilal al-Minuki demonstrates a fundamental shift in Washington's approach to the Nigerian security crisis. "Those who target innocent Christians will be hunted down and brought to justice. This president is laser focused on defending our Christian brothers and sisters in Nigeria against the slaughter and martyrdom they've faced at the hands of radical Islamic terrorists," Moore said.

The congressman revealed the personal nature of his involvement in the issue. "President Trump tasked me personally to go investigate this issue of Christian persecution, Christian genocide in Nigeria, which is what I did," he said. Moore travelled to Nigeria with colleagues from the Appropriations Committee and subsequently presented a report to the White House containing key recommendations on protecting vulnerable populations.

Moore noted that the administration's engagement with Nigeria had intensified significantly following Trump's designation of the country as a "Country of Particular Concern" on October 31, 2025 — a classification that provides Washington with diplomatic tools including sanctions and visa restrictions. The designation, he said, was not merely symbolic but has underpinned a more assertive American posture.

Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the target of the operation, was described by Nigeria's Defence Headquarters as one of the world's most operationally versatile terrorist commanders. Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, Director of Defence Information, said al-Minuki oversaw ISIS's weapons manufacturing, drone development, and global media operations, while also providing strategic direction to ISIS affiliates outside Nigeria. Intelligence assessments indicated that as recently as February 2026, al-Minuki may have been elevated to Head of the ISIS General Directorate of States — the second most senior position in the group's global hierarchy.

Before pledging allegiance to ISIS in 2015, al-Minuki was a prominent Boko Haram commander. He was linked to the 2018 Dapchi kidnapping of over 100 schoolgirls in northeastern Nigeria and had been under United States sanctions since 2023.

Moore's message to the terrorists was blunt. "Do not test President Trump's resolve," he warned. However, the congressman also cautioned that the fight is far from over. "The ongoing slaughter of Christians in Nigeria's Middle Belt remains one of the world's worst humanitarian and religious persecution crises. We will continue to press the Nigerian government to act, and where it cannot or will not, the United States will not stand idle."

The statement signals that Washington views the Nigerian security crisis through an increasingly direct lens and may be prepared to take further action if the tide of violence is not stemmed.

Prime Brief Media will continue to track security and rescue efforts across the state as this story develops.

#USNigeriaRelations #CounterTerrorism #RileyMoore #Trump #ChristianPersecution #ISIS #PrimeBriefMedia