extreme_jimmylee_e994961eee4c707e33a3e3d5cc29cfd3 Dr. Tillman on Nigeria Strikes: Defending Religious Liberty Is American Leadership
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Dr. Tillman on Nigeria Strikes: Defending Religious Liberty Is American Leadership

  • Writer: Ebony Tillman PR
    Ebony Tillman PR
  • Dec 28, 2025
  • 2 min read

President Trump's decisive action against ISIS terrorists in Nigeria on Christmas Day demonstrates what principled American leadership looks like. When terrorist groups systematically slaughter Christians—over 7,000 killed in 2024 alone—the United States has both a moral duty and strategic interest to respond.


As president of Martin Luther King Republicans and a Heritage Foundation Academy Fellow, I've spent years coordinating advocacy from Black Christian congregations across America on behalf of our Nigerian brothers and sisters facing what human rights monitors call genocide. Over 62,000 Christians have been murdered since 2000 by ISIS-affiliated groups, Boko Haram, and allied militias. Pastors executed at their pulpits. Eighteen thousand churches destroyed. Families driven from their homes.


Black churches from Chicago to Atlanta didn't just pray—we organized, we lobbied, and we demanded Washington act. President Trump heard us. He warned these terrorist groups to stop the slaughter. When they refused, he authorized targeted military strikes—not nation-building, not endless occupation, but precision action against terrorist networks.


This is the kind of foreign policy conservatives should embrace: moral clarity paired with strategic restraint. Nigeria is Africa's largest economy and most populous nation. Allowing ISIS to cement control there would create a terror haven threatening American allies and interests across West Africa. Targeted strikes disrupt these networks without the quagmires that discredited previous interventions.


Congress must now follow through. I'm calling on lawmakers to:

  • Hold hearings with Nigerian church leaders who have witnessed this persecution firsthand

  • Apply Global Magnitsky sanctions against officials complicit in anti-Christian violence

  • Condition security assistance on verifiable protections for religious minorities

  • Establish regular oversight of counterterrorism operations in the Sahel region

As your next U.S. Senator, I will fight to codify this approach: defending religious freedom abroad when it aligns with American interests, using precision over occupation, and ensuring Congress provides proper oversight.


Religious liberty isn't just a domestic issue—it's a founding American principle with global implications. Previous administrations offered words. This administration delivered action. As someone who successfully fought to reopen Illinois churches during COVID lockdowns, I understand that defending faith communities—whether in Chicago or Nigeria—requires more than sympathy. It requires courage and results.


I'm proud to be the first Illinois Senate candidate to address this critical issue. American leadership means standing with persecuted believers when our values and interests align. That's the kind of senator Illinois needs in Washington.


Dr. Jimmy Lee Tillman II is a PhD historian, best-selling author, Heritage Foundation Academy Fellow, President of Martin Luther King Republicans, and candidate for the United States Senate in Illinois.


Published: December 29, 2024



The US department of war on Thursday released a footage of strike against ISIS terrorist in Northeast Nigeria. The video shows a missle being lauched by an aircraft carrier.

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