US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition Applauds Elimination Of ISIS Global 2nd-in-Command

The US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition, convened by the Save Nigeria Group USA (SNGUSA), issues this formal statement expressing profound gratitude to U.S. President Donald J. Trump, the brave American Special Forces, and the Nigerian Government and Armed Forces under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

This follows the flawlessly executed, highly complex joint military operation in the Lake Chad Basin that successfully eliminated Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the global second-in-command of ISIS and head of its al-Furqan office.

Al-Minuki, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist who orchestrated widespread atrocities across the Sahel and Lake Chad region, terrorized thousands of civilians and destabilized West Africa. His removal marks a monumental victory for global security and greatly diminishes ISIS’s operational capacity.

“The historic success of this joint US-Nigeria operation is a definitive testament to what is possible when Washington and Abuja align their strategic capabilities to protect mutual interests and combat violent extremism,” stated Stephen Osemwegie, President of Save Nigeria Group USA.

“We thank President Trump and the joint forces for demonstrating the moral clarity and military precision needed to take the world’s most active terrorist off the battlefield.”

While celebrating this decisive blow against global jihadism, the Coalition stresses that military successes must be sustained. We call for an expanded, long-term U.S. military advisory, intelligence, and humanitarian presence in Nigeria and the broader West African subregion. This is critical to preventing an ISIS leadership resurgence and stabilizing vulnerable border areas.

Crucially, the Coalition reminds the international community that the threat to Nigerian civilians is multifaceted. While ISIS remains a potent danger, the primary driver of what has amounted to a targeted campaign against agrarian communities—often described by human rights advocates as a genocide against Christians and moderate Muslims—stems from heavily armed radical elements called the Fulani Ethnic Militias.

These militias are allegedly responsible for the vast majority of attacks on farming communities, churches, and schools, displacing millions of indigenous populations and permanently seizing their ancestral lands.

To address the root causes of this ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, the Coalition urgently calls upon the United States Congress to swiftly pass the **Nigerian Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026**.

We explicitly advocate for the bill to include the formal designation of radical Fulani Ethnic Militias as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).