United States congressman, Riley Moore has credited US President Donald Trump with ordering the joint Nigerian-American operation that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, identified as the second-in-command of ISIS globally.
He warned that those who target Christians in Nigeria will face consequences.
Moore, a Republican lawmaker who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, made the remarks in an interview on NewsNation with anchor Anna Kooiman on Sunday, where he discussed the recent strike and the broader crisis of religious persecution in north-eastern Nigeria.
“President Trump 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 wrote on his X account on Monday alongside the interview clip.
“The strike on Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, ISIS Number 2 globally, sends a clear message: those who target innocent Christians will be hunted down and brought to justice. Do not test President Trump’s resolve,” he said.
He said the president remained personally engaged on the issue.
“This is something that the president is acutely focused on as he should be and so am I,” Moore said. “And I think many around the country are.
“I just a couple hours ago walked out of church to be on television here with you and I heard from many people thank you for focusing on this issue. So I think it’s something that’s near and dear to a lot of people’s hearts,” he said.
Moore also contextualised the US involvement in Nigeria, noting that it had roots dating back more than a decade.
“We’ve been involved now for close to a year and this has been on and off though since prior to 2015. As you remember, the emergence of Boko Haram during that time period,” he said.
The Defence Headquarters had confirmed that al-Minuki was killed in a “meticulously planned and highly coordinated” precision strike in the Lake Chad Basin.
Its Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, described him as one of the world’s most operationally versatile terrorist commanders, saying he had overseen 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.
He had been placed under US sanctions in 2023 for his ties to the Islamic State.
Before pledging allegiance to ISIS in 2015, he was a prominent Boko Haram leader and was linked to the 2018 Dapchi kidnapping of over 100 schoolgirls.