U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has disclosed that President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to prioritize the protection of Nigerian Christians allegedly targeted by ISIS-linked extremists.

Hegseth said the move culminated in the elimination of a top Islamic State commander in Nigeria.

Hegseth made the revelation during an interview aired by Fox News, where he defended the administration’s counterterrorism operations in West Africa.

He praised Trump’s leadership on national security issues during the interview.

According to him, intelligence gathered during the mission contributed to the deaths of “hundreds” of ISIS fighters accused of attacks on Christians and threats against the United States homeland.

“There’s a lot of things we do that the media pays attention to, and a lot of things that the president empowers the Department to do on behalf of the American people, that he deserves great credit for,” Hegseth said during the interview.

The comments come days after President Trump announced that a joint operation involving U.S. and Nigerian forces led to the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki.

Al-Minuki was described by American officials as ISIS’ global second-in-command.

The operation reportedly took place in northeastern Nigeria’s Lake Chad Basin, an area long troubled by insurgent violence linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram.

Reuters reported that the operation was coordinated with Nigerian authorities and executed through a precision air-and-ground assault without reported U.S. casualties.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu also acknowledged the operation, describing it as a significant milestone in counterterrorism cooperation between both countries.

While the Trump administration has framed the military actions as part of efforts to stop the killing of Christians in Nigeria, analysts and Nigerian officials have continued to stress that extremist violence in the country affects both Muslims and Christians alike.

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar previously stated that joint operations with the United States were aimed at combating terrorism generally and protecting all Nigerians irrespective of religion.

The extremist group most commonly associated with ISIS activities in Nigeria is the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which operates mainly in the northeast and around the Lake Chad region.

Security experts note that counterterrorism missions involving high-profile targets are usually conducted through multinational cooperation and are often publicly acknowledged after completion.

Hegseth also hinted that additional military operations could follow if extremist attacks continue in the region.

A teacher at Federal Government College, Anka, Mustapha Yahaya Maru, has reportedly been k!lled by armed band!ts despite the payment of ransom for his release.

Sahara Reporters reports that Maru was abducted early May while travelling to Anka in Zamfara State alongside several other passengers after their vehicle was intercepted by the attackers.

Following the abduction, the k!dnappers contacted his family and demanded a ransom far beyond their financial capacity.The report states that after intense efforts and negotiations, the family eventually raised and paid the agreed amount in hopes of securing his freedom.

Tragically, the bandits k!lled Maru on Tuesday instead of releasing him.

His de@th has thrown his family and the Maru community into mourning and has further heightened concerns over the worsening insecurity in the region.

The Presidency on Wednesday said social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VDM, should face the law over the circulation of an alleged fake audio purportedly involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this in a post on X, accusing VDM of disseminating false content on social media.

“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform,” Onanuga wrote.

The presidential aide was reacting to a post by an X user, identified as Aneex, who questioned why some people believed the voice in the audio belonged to Tinubu.

The user described the audio as “cheap propaganda” and alleged that VDM was exploiting emotions to spread misinformation.

In the viral content, VeryDarkMan allegedly used the audio to call on Nigerians to reject President Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 general elections.

The development comes just days after President Tinubu secured the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress at the party’s nationwide direct primary held on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

During the exercise, Tinubu reportedly polled 10,999,162 votes, defeating his sole challenger, APC chieftain Stanley Osifo, who secured 16,503 votes from over 12 million registered party members.

Meanwhile, opposition figures are already positioning ahead of 2027, with Peter Obi expected to fly the flag of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), while former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is also expected to lead the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ticket.