By Desire Emmanuel
US President Donald Trump on Friday night expressed appreciation to the government of Nigeria after the US-Nigerian joint forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, a high-ranking member of the “Islamic State,” at a location in Nigeria.
Trump said this in his Truth Social post, adding that al-Minuki was the second in command of the “Islamic State” (IS) globally.
“With his removal, IS’s global operation is greatly diminished. Thank you to the government of Nigeria for your partnership on this operation. God bless America,” Trump wrote.
He added that the terrorist thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know that the US had sources who kept it informed on what he was doing in Nigeria and other African countries.
He said with his elimination, he will no longer be able to terrorise the people of Africa or help plan operations to target Americans.
Nigeria recently came under criticism from Trump, who claimed that Christians were being persecuted by Islamist militants and that the government was not doing enough to stop the violence, which Nigerian authorities have denied.
The US carried out strikes on what it alleged were Islamist bases in northwestern Nigeria on December 25 last year in the wake of the US president’s allegations.
Nigeria has seen considerable violence from a range of armed militant groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province.
