- United States Representative Riley Moore has issued a stern warning to insurgent networks operating within Nigeria, declaring that those who target and persecute innocent populations will face the full weight of joint military consequences.
- The Republican lawmaker credited US President Donald Trump with personally ordering the recent high-profile counterterrorism operation in the Lake Chad Basin, which successfully eliminated the global second-in-command of ISIS, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki.
- Moore revealed that his recent fact-finding mission to Nigeria alongside members of the House Appropriations Committee culminated in a specialized security report presented to the White House, detailing strategic recommendations to curb religious persecution.
On May 18, 2026, United States Congressman Riley Moore warned international terrorist syndicates against undermining American resolve in West Africa.
Eko Hot Blog reports that speaking during a media appearance on NewsNation, Moore, a prominent member of the House Appropriations Committee, emphasized that the White House remains acutely focused on halting the systematic targeting and martyrdom of Christian communities by radical extremists in Nigeria’s northeastern corridors.
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The lawmaker asserted that the precision air campaign that took out top-tier global ISIS leader Abu-Bilal al-Minuki serves as an undeniable testament to President Donald Trump’s direct counterterrorism mandate.
According to Moore, bilateral intelligence and combat operations scaled up significantly following Washington’s decision on October 31 of last year to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern.
Acting on a direct presidential tasking, Moore and several congressional colleagues traveled to the West African nation to evaluate the scope of the regional security crisis firsthand.
The resulting findings, which were formally packaged into a comprehensive legislative report for the White House, outlined critical pathways for the deployment of logistics, intelligence assets, and tactical support to shield vulnerable local populations from insurgent factions.
The elimination of al-Minuki remains a severe blow to the operational capacity of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and its parent organization.
Details released by Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, through the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, confirmed that the high-ranking operative was killed in a meticulously coordinated precision strike.
Intelligence records show that as of February 2026, al-Minuki had risen to head the ISIS General Directorate of States, managing global drone development, logistics channels, and media operations.
He had previously been a frontline Boko Haram commander linked to the infamous 2018 Dapchi schoolgirls kidnapping before pledging allegiance to ISIS in 2015.
The US lawmaker reiterated that Washington’s security footprint in the region, which has been maintained through various administrative cycles since the rise of Boko Haram prior to 2015, will continue to expand where necessary to guarantee stability.
Moore concluded by stating that the joint air strikes executed alongside the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) demonstrate that no terrorist leader can find a permanent safe haven within Nigerian borders.
By enforcing a strict policy of consequence, the combined forces aim to permanently break the command hierarchies of these extremist networks and safeguard regional peace.
