Do Donald Trump’s strikes in Nigeria serve any purpose?

Inside StoryThe US president says air strikes are against ISIL, claiming the group targets Christians.“More to come”: Those are the words of United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after his country carried out a wave of air strikes against ISIL (ISIS) in northwestern Nigeria.Hegseth said the aim is to stop the group’s killing of what he called “innocent Christians”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US releases missile launch video after northwest Nigeria strikelist 2 of 4US air strikes in Nigeria “very much welcome” although latelist 3 of 4US bombs target ISIL in Nigeria: What’s really going on?list 4 of 4US air strikes won’t fix Nigeria’s security crisis but could make it worseend of listBack in November, President Donald Trump warned the US would take action against the group if the Nigerian government continued to allow what he claimed was the targeting of Christians.Many say Trump was pressured by his right-wing Christian base in the US to carry out the recent attacks in Nigeria. But what could be the fallout on the African country with a highly complex religious makeup?Presenter: Adrian FinighanGuests:Malik Samuel – Senior researcher at Good Governance AfricaEbenezer Obadare – Senior fellow for Africa studies at the Council on Foreign RelationsDavid Otto – Deputy director of counterterrorism training at the International Academy for the Fight Against TerrorismPublished On 27 Dec 2025