Nigeria (MNN) — A joint operation by Nigerian and United States forces over the weekend of May 16–17 killed a top ISIS leader based in Nigeria.
US President Donald Trump described Abu-Bilal al-Minuki as “second in command of ISIS globally.” The US and Nigeria also conducted additional air strikes against ISIS forces on Sunday.
(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)
Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations hopes for a little more stability in Nigeria now that al-Minuki is reportedly gone.
“This individual was largely behind a lot of the organization and the instabilities — not just in Nigeria, but this has spilled over into neighboring countries,” he says. (More on al-Minuki here.)
Other leaders within ISIS will fill the gap left by al-Minuki soon enough. But there’s something more Kelley doesn’t want us to miss.
“The encouraging thing about this that we haven’t seen in the last 15 years is a robust involvement from the Nigerian government and military,” Kelley says of the joint Nigeria-US operation.
“A lot of the people that we know that we’ve spoken to are encouraged that there’s accountability finally taking place. The Christian church is encouraged today. They’ve been praying for accountability.”
Nigeria’s response to Islamic insurgents has often been criticized. Government leaders maintain that extremists target people of all faiths, not mainly Christians. Yet according to Open Doors, more Christians were killed in Nigeria between October 2024 and September 2025 than in the rest of the world combined. Of the 4,849 deaths recorded in their reporting period, 3,490 were believers in Nigeria.
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Regardless of political debate, Kelley says the need for gospel workers remains urgent. Nigeria’s estimated 237 million population is divided nearly in half between Muslims and Christians.
“This [joint operation] is putting [Nigeria] on the front lines and to the front of our attention, so that we can be praying for northern Nigeria,” Kelley says.
Among northern Nigeria’s unreached people groups are the Fulani, the Hausa, and the Kanuri.
“Pray for laborers that would be sent forth into these [northern] areas,” says Kelley. “There are 100 million Muslims in northern Nigeria, and well over 95% of them have never heard the gospel message.”
Many of these missionaries could come from southern Nigeria, which Kelley explains is predominantly Christian.
Pray also for gospel resources and godly leaders to reach into the north.
“We need to pray for resources like our solar-powered audio Bibles in the Hausa, Fulani, and Kanuri languages that can be sent in there,” says Kelley. “We need to send mature leaders who are strong in the Word of God, who understand the Quran, who can help educate and lead these people to Christ.”
The header image is a stock photo of a region in north central Nigeria, courtesy of Mathias Owa Martins via Unsplash.
