The highlights this week: Analysts raise questions about the official White House narrative behind recent U.S. strikes on Nigeria , Benin holds elections after a failed coup attempt, and China’s foreign minister tours the continent.
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The highlights this week: Analysts raise questions about the official White House narrative behind recent U.S. strikes on Nigeria, Benin holds elections after a failed coup attempt, and China’s foreign minister tours the continent.
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Nigeria’s Newest Armed Group
Nigeria, like Iran and Venezuela, has become a target of the United States’ increasingly aggressive foreign policy under President Donald Trump. The U.S. military launched airstrikes on northwestern Nigeria’s Sokoto state on Christmas Day, claiming that it was protecting Christians from what Trump called “ISIS Terrorist Scum.”
Last week, Trump told the New York Times that further airstrikes in Nigeria were on the table. “I’d love to make it a one-time strike. But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike,” Trump said . Washington alleges that Nigerian Christians are facing systematic persecution and killings compared to other Nigerians, an assertion that is not supported by data.
Expert analyses, media reports, and eyewitness accounts contest the White House’s official narrative surrounding the Dec. 25, 2025, strikes. Even as U.S.
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