The Sentinel Security Advocacy Initiative (SSAI) welcomes the decisive joint military operation by Nigerian and United States forces that resulted in the elimination of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also known as Abu-Mainok or Al-Manuki, the second-in-command of the Islamic State (ISIS) globally.
In separate posts on their official social media handles in the early hours of today, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria and President Donald J. Trump of the United States announced the success of the daring strike carried out in the terrorist’s compound in the Lake Chad Basin. The operation, which also neutralised several of al-Minuki’s lieutenants, represents a significant blow to ISIS command structures and a powerful demonstration of what effective international collaboration can achieve in the global fight against terrorism.
President Tinubu stated:
“Nigeria and the United States recorded a significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism.
Our determined Nigerian Armed Forces, working closely with the Armed Forces of the United States, conducted a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State.
Early assessments confirm the elimination of the wanted IS senior leader, Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.
Nigeria appreciates this partnership with the United States in advancing our shared security objectives. I extend my sincere gratitude to President Trump for his leadership and unwavering support in this effort.
I commend the personnel involved on both sides for their professionalism and courage, and I look forward to more decisive strikes against all terrorist enclaves across the nation.”
President Trump, in his own statement, thanked the Government of Nigeria for its robust partnership and commitment to the operation, underscoring the mutual trust and shared intelligence that made the strike possible.
The group notes that this breakthrough is the direct outcome of the high-level diplomatic and security engagements initiated by President Tinubu. Only weeks ago, at the behest of the President, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, led a strategic delegation to the United States where he held crucial meetings with Senator Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance. Those discussions produced firm pledges for deepened intelligence sharing and enhanced bilateral security collaboration, commitments that have now translated into tangible results on the battlefield.
Under the focused leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria is demonstrating a renewed and uncompromising resolve to end the scourge of insurgency. The partnership and operational synergy being coordinated through the Office of the National Security Adviser, led by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, are already yielding positive, measurable outcomes.
Intelligence-led operations of this nature remain the only proven strategy capable of completely obliterating terrorist networks by dismantling their command structures, supply chains, and logistical lifelines.
SSAI particularly commends President Tinubu for his hands-on leadership and for consistently equipping the nation’s security agencies with the necessary resources, modern platforms, and operational freedom to confront insurgents head-on.
The Office of the NSA has equally shown remarkable diligence in choking off terrorists’ supply lines and logistics networks while significantly improving inter-agency coordination across military, intelligence, and law enforcement formations. These silent, behind-the-scenes efforts are the bedrock of the victories now being recorded.
The Sentinel Security Advocacy Initiative therefore calls on President Tinubu to sustain this momentum by continuing to provide support and resources to the nation’s security agencies. We equally urge the Office of the National Security Adviser to maintain its current trajectory of delivering results through precise, intelligence-driven actions — conducted with the professionalism and discretion that have become its hallmark.
Terrorism has no place in Nigeria’s future. Today’s success proves that when leadership, resources, and international partnership align, victory is not only possible, it is inevitable, Dr. Morris Ekanem Effiong, Convener Sentinel Security Advocacy Initiative concluded.
