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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I had just been on a fact-finding mission to Nigeria a week earlier and, although U.S.\u00a0 Africa Command\u2019s kinetic action was a surprise, it was not entirely unexpected. In November, President Donald Trump<\/a> had made clear to Nigeria\u2019s leaders that they had to do more to combat terrorism. This strike resulted from close cooperation between Nigerian and American military planners.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the nation\u2019s 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 \u2014 at least for now \u2014 still feels normal. Kids fidgeted in the pews. Families sang. It wasn\u2019t that different than my parish at home in Spokane, Washington.<\/p>\n AUSTRALIA TERROR ATTACK EXPOSES ISIS RESURGENCE AS EXPERTS WARN OF GLOBAL JIHADIST NETWORKS<\/a><\/p>\n Funerals for some 27 Christians who were reportedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in the village of Bindi Ta-hoss, Nigeria on July, 28, 2025. (Courtesy: Christian Solidarity International \u2013 CSI)<\/p>\n Yet, at the same time, in the middle belt of Nigeria, Christian farmers<\/a> went to sleep wondering if armed men will come in the night \u2014 if their village would be raided, their church burned, their pastor threatened, their daughters taken, their sons killed, their farms looted.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That contrast \u2014 peace in the capital, fear in the countryside \u2014 is why our congressional delegation came to meet with government officials.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n FROM SYRIA TO SOMALIA, US TROOPS REMAIN DEPLOYED THIS HOLIDAY SEASON UNDER MISSIONS THAT NEVER FORMALLY ENDED<\/a><\/p>\n Islamic terrorism is not a problem we can wish away and Nigeria is far more vital to American security than most people realize.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nigeria is Africa\u2019s largest country<\/a>, 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\u2019s most significant democracies in the slow lane.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As we start a new year, Americans will move on from the Christmas headlines. Nigeria can\u2019t. And neither should we.<\/p>\n CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN SYSTEMATIC KIDNAPPING CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA BY JIHADI HERDSMEN, EXPERTS SAY<\/a><\/p>\n Nigeria is plagued with multiple violent groups, from criminal gangs to an Islamic extremist dimension: Boko Haram and ISIS-linked terrorists<\/a> in the Northeast, and \u2014 far closer to Nigeria\u2019s heartland \u2014 Fulani jihadi militias that have terrorized rural communities, driven families off their land, and made ordinary life impossible.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 it is an entrenched network with transnational ties that recruits, holds territory, and grows.\u00a0<\/p>\n Islamic terrorism is not a problem we can wish away and Nigeria is far more vital to American security than most people realize.\u00a0<\/p>\n We met with Nigerian officials to hear how they assess the threat and where they need help. The best conversations were frank: Nigeria\u2019s 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 \u2014 it\u2019s about governance, accountability and public trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n America cannot \u2014 and should not \u2014 try to be the world\u2019s policeman. But “not policing the world” does not mean closing our eyes to real terrorist threats.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION<\/a><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n In this photo released by Christian Association of Nigeria, a man walk past belongings at the St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)<\/p>\n U.S. engagement<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n![\"Christians](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768146727_809_nigeria_funeral-of-the-victims-bindi-plateau-state-25-july-2025-f-csi.jpg\")
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