"I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!" the president declared in a TRUTH post.

With this declaration, Trump has stepped into a deeply contentious issue that has become a rallying cry for parts of the Christian and evangelical right in the US. Last month, the conservative New York Post, known for its hawkish stance and willingness to criticize even the president, published an editorial urging him to intervene in Nigeria to protect the country's persecuted Christians.

Video: Attacks on worshippers and churches in Nigeria /// Reuters

The paper claimed that a staggering 18,000 churches had been destroyed, 50,000 Christians murdered, and more than 5 million displaced by attacks carried out by Muslims against their Christian neighbors. It argued that while Nigeria's government fights fiercely against Islamist terrorist groups in the country's north, it has done little to stop armed militias of Muslim herders from the central belt who target Christian farming communities.

A land dispute, or genocide?

Leading the political charge is Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, whose base includes evangelical Christians. Cruz has introduced legislation requiring the administration to classify events in Nigeria as religious persecution, demanding a US response, rather than as a conflict linked to climate change, as the Biden administration had previously described it.

Nigeria, with a population of 220 million, is almost evenly split between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced instability from multiple fronts, including the extremist Boko Haram group, which seeks to impose its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems insufficiently devout.

The violence in Nigeria is fueled by multiple factors. Some attacks are religiously motivated and target both Christians and Muslims. Others stem from resource disputes between herders and farmers, intercommunal rivalries, separatist movements, and ethnic clashes.

While Christians are among the victims, analysts note that most people killed by armed groups are Muslims in northern Nigeria, where the majority of attacks occur. Both Muslim and Christian communities have, at various times, accused the other side of committing "genocide" during bouts of religiously charged violence. These attacks are most frequent in the north-central and northwestern regions, where conflicts between predominantly Christian farming communities and Fulani herders, who are mostly Muslim, are widespread.

Joseph Hayab, former chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State, one of the areas hardest hit by insecurity, disputed claims of a "Christian genocide." He acknowledged that thousands of Christians have been killed over the years but added, "Things are better than they were before." Still, he cautioned that every killing must be condemned.

Whether the widespread killings and destruction in Nigeria's central belt constitute an anti-Christian genocide or a land conflict between farmers and herders may ultimately determine whether Washington takes real action. For the victims, however, the legal definition matters far less than the devastation that has upended their lives.

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In the Islamic textbooks, contradictory content was found – some call Jews "people of the book" and describe shared origins, but others call them "idol-worshipping and hypocrites." In the Christian books, claims were found about the collective guilt of Jews in Jesus' death. The Holocaust is mentioned only superficially, without reference to the Jewish identity of the victims, and the books contain incorrect maps describing "Palestine in the time of Christ" or describing Abraham's migration to "Palestine" instead of Canaan.

The problems are not limited to content about Jews. "Homosexualism and lesbianism" are described as "strange and immoral cultures," and women receive stereotypical treatment. Minority religions are described as "cults," and immigrants as "economic saboteurs."

Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se, emphasized the importance of the findings. "Africa is the fastest-growing continent in the world, and Nigeria is its most populous country. The education that Nigerian children receive today will shape not only the future of the country, but the entire continent," he said. He added that when Israel works to expand its relations in Africa, it is important to understand how perceptions of Jews and Israel are formed among the younger generation.

Despite the criticism, the report also notes positive aspects in the Nigerian textbooks. Calls for mutual respect between religions, condemnation of gender violence and forced marriages, recognition of the Jewish-Igbo community in Nigeria, and a positive description of the Israeli parliamentary system as a model government alongside Britain were found.

The organization announced that it would work with policymakers in Nigeria to implement the report's recommendations, while emphasizing the importance of quality education for global understanding and international cooperation.

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The man, identified as Gil Itamar, is an employee of an engineering firm operating in the country. He was reportedly abducted on Thursday while driving on a road in southeastern Nigeria. Authorities suspect the motive was ransom, a common occurrence in the region.

Conflicting accounts emerged from Nigerian security services regarding the circumstances of his abduction and rescue. Local police said Itamar was kidnapped while traveling with a military escort. According to their account, he was taken Thursday morning and freed following an intense exchange of fire between the kidnappers and a joint police-military force. "After being overpowered by security forces, the kidnappers were forced to retreat and abandoned the hostage," police said in a statement.

The Nigerian military, however, offered a completely different version. In a statement by the army spokesperson, it was claimed that Itamar was alone in his vehicle at the time of the abduction, without any military escort as the police had stated. The army also denied that a gunfight took place during the rescue, emphasizing that Itamar was freed without a single shot being fired, thanks to an intelligence-based operation conducted in cooperation with local leaders.

"While we commend inter-agency cooperation, we urge the Taraba State Police Command to ensure accuracy in its official statements to avoid misleading the public and undermining security efforts," the military said.

According to reports, Itamar is currently at an SCC company medical facility in the town of Takum, located in the southeastern part of Taraba State, approximately 400 kilometers southeast of the capital Abuja and near the border with Cameroon.

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Nationwide protests erupted in major Nigerian cities over the high cost of living, food shortages, corruption, and demands for the reinstatement of gas and electricity subsidies.

The protests, tagged #EndbadGovernanceinNigeria, turned violent in some cases. Security forces are criticized for using excessive force against mostly peaceful protesters. Nearly 700 people, including 50 journalists, were arrested. Police used tear gas.

Seven persons or more were killed by security forces.

Violence and looting mainly occurred in Nigeria's northern states most affected by hunger and insecurity, leading to curfews in five states. Kano, Jigawa, Yobe, Katsina, and Borno, imposed 24-hour curfews and deployed security forces, citing violence, looting, and vandalism by "hoodlums."

Nigerian security forces cracked down on journalists in Abuja, arresting at least 50, firing bullets, tear gas, and gunshots at protesters and journalists.

Rights groups accused security forces of using lethal tactics against peaceful demonstrators and independently verified reported deaths.

Kaduna state police said tear gas, not live ammunition, was used against protesters.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu's removal of the fuel subsidy in May led to significant inflation.

Demonstrators demanded government action on the worst economic conditions in three decades.

The Take It Back Movement demands action on the cost of living crisis, free education, constitutional reform, diaspora voting rights, and a separatist leader's release, finding inspiration in Kenyan youth protests.

Tinubu highlighted efforts to address concerns, including reducing debt servicing, infrastructure projects, student loans, small business support, and cancellation of food relates taxes.

He claimed the economy is recovering due to his intervention.

Banks, shops, and businesses remained closed due to protests, with business activities halted in Lagos.

Tinubu acknowledged citizens' pain and frustration, assuring them the government is committed to addressing concerns. He claimed the protests were politically motivated to weaken his government and called for an end to violence.

The events are complicated by misinformation on social media. Critics claim the Nigerian government uses old images to tarnish the protests.

Opposition leaders like Peter Obi and Senator Kingibe denied involvement in sponsoring or leading the protests, clarifying videos were taken out of context.

The Nigerian police spokesperson shared recent photos of arrested looters, disproving claims the images were from 2011.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar expressed support for the protests against hunger.

Sources: Bloomberg, BBC, Reuters, FT, The Guardian, ABC News, LA Times, DW, Al Jazeera, Washington Times, France 24, Barron's, Semafor.

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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A new report from the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab highlights sample posts removed from Facebook that appeared to praise incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and smear his leading opponent, Atiku Abubakar.

Many of the pages and accounts were discovered to be linked to a Tel Aviv-based political consulting and lobbying firm (Israel Hayom has chosen not to reveal its name). On its sparse website of African stock images, the company advertises its deliberate efforts to conduct disinformation campaigns, boasting that it takes "every advantage available in order to change reality according to our client's wishes" through "unlimited online accounts operation."

Facebook banned the group from the platform Thursday for its "coordinated and deceptive behavior" and conducted a sweeping takedown of dozens of accounts and hundreds of pages primarily aimed at disrupting elections in African countries, with some scattered activity in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Overall, the misleading accounts had reached some 2.8 million users and the pages had engaged over 5,000 followers, according to Facebook's estimates.

One of the pages that Facebook canceled appeared filled with viral misinformation attacking Abubakar, the former vice president of Nigeria. The page's banner image showed Abubakar as Darth Vader, the Star Wars villain, holding up a sign reading, "Make Nigeria Worse Again."

Another page with almost identical visuals, although significantly excluding the Darth Vader mask, purported to support Abubakar, with the slogan "Team Atiku For President." The report identified the page as a covert attempt to infiltrate Abubakar's audience of potential voters and manipulate their views, gradually spamming them with antithetical content and diverting them to the "Make Nigeria Worse Again" page.

The report also featured a page that explicitly lionized and boosted Buhari, with amateur videos eulogizing the accomplishments of his presidency as though he were not locked in a tight battle for re-election.

Yet another series of pages targeted the local Rivers state elections in Nigeria's turbulent south, which was marred by widespread violence. Several of the removed pages attempted to defame a candidate from Abubakar's People's Democratic Party and boost his opponent. One page with artificially amplified audience engagement, called "Rivers Violence Watch," pumped out political propaganda while posing as a neutral monitor of election violence, using the page description to mask its efforts.

Most of the pages claimed to be run by local Nigerian users, but in fact, were managed from Israel.

Fake news flooded Nigerians and played a central role in the recent national election. Rumors, which spread like wildfire in Africa's most populous country, became so outlandish and fevered that last year Buhari was compelled to declare publicly that he had not died and been replaced by a clone. More than a dozen media outlets joined forces before the election for a fact-checking initiative, while government officials acknowledged that fake news could be deadly in a country with multiple ethnic and religious fault lines.

The incumbent Buhari, who ran on promises to clean up government corruption, and his challenger Abubakar, who campaigned more on pocketbook issues, were in a dead heat as the election approached. The vote vaulted Buhari to a resounding victory, but remained clouded in controversy, with each side accusing the other of vote-rigging and Election Day violence halting ballot-counting and sparking dangerous rumors.

Despite the overt political messaging of these inauthentic pages, the Digital Forensics lab could not assign a particular ideological motive to the Israel-based company's campaigns, given the diversity and scope of its general operations. Rather, the company, which poured over $800,000 into deceptive content over the past several years, appeared profit-driven. The report did not probe the origins of its cash flow and it was not clear whether political actors in Nigeria or other countries where the campaigns took off had paid for the company's "strategic consulting."

"The fact [that] the pages were operated by a for-profit company is a troubling sign that highly partisan disinformation is turning into a capital enterprise," the report said.

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But i24NEWS' Afrique magazine program managed to capture an authentic snapshot of what that that vibrant, albeit remote, community does, how it practices Judaism and how it yearns to return to its ancestral homeland in the land of Israel.

PER_NIGERIA_JEWS_VTR_FR_150519 from i24NEWS on Vimeo.

The Igbo Jews, as they are called, are a small community in Nigeria within the large Igbo ethnic group. Nigeria's overall population stands at some 180 million, but the Igbo Jews are a fraction of that.  Israel has repeatedly explored the possibility of recognizing them as Jewish, but their status among rabbinical authorities remains in limbo. 

"They claim to be descendants of the lost tribes of Israel and today observe religious practices very similar to rabbinical Judaism," i24NEWS reporter Elinor Lalo says as she shows footage of the Igbo Jews praying the traditional Jewish afternoon prayer.

"Since we do not have a mikveh, the ritual bath, we save water from the rain, and put a big pan under the rain, we let the water go into a pan," one woman says.

The report suggests that the Igbo Jews, young and old, appear to know more than what a secular Israeli Jew would know about Judaism.

"While some are ready to leave everything behind for Israel, and others live very happily here in Nigeria, one dream unites them all – to one day set foot in the holy land," Lalo says.

You can see the full report on i24NEWS.tv

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It's a fair question. Until now, Israel has not had one of its own jump onto a sled and throw himself headfirst down an icy mountainside track in pursuit of Olympic success. But that's the road Edelman took to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he is one of many athletes who took a rather unusual route to sliding into these games.

"A lot of chutzpah," Edelman said. "People told me I couldn't. I was damn well going to do it."

There's a lot of that going around at the Alpensia Sliding Center these days – sliders with stories that are a million miles from typical.

Nigeria has Olympians in women's bobsledding and women's skeleton. Ghana is represented in men's skeleton. Jamaica has its first Olympic women's bobsled team and men's skeleton slider. There was a men's luge racer from Taiwan who trains on wheeled sleds, on roads and even amid traffic. And women's luger Daria Obratov only got into sliding because eight knee operations ended her handball career.

"It was a really hard journey," said Obratov, who worked in a law office and had financial help from her parents to make this quest a reality. "I am here without a mechanic and I work on my sled myself."

They won't win. They won't come close.

For some nations, some sliders, that's failure. For the long shots, that's irrelevant.

"Usually I put wheels on my sled and train on a road, because we have no snow and no track," said Lien Te-An, the luger from Taiwan. "We have to pass the cars."

There were 40 men in the Olympic luge race. Lien was 38th and thrilled.

"I came here and showed the whole world about our country," Lien said.

Edelman's story may actually seem normal compared to some of those circuitous routes to Pyeongchang. He played club hockey at MIT near Boston, then had what he describes now as an early midlife crisis. Put simply, when his hockey days were over, he was not ready to give up on some semblance of a sporting life.

"The reason I didn't pursue hockey or try to go pro was because I thought, 'Jews just don't do that,'" Edelman said.

Enter skeleton.

He is not fast, had no idea what he was doing his first few times on a sled, and was told he would not last two years in the sport. He recalled all that while standing near the Olympic rings this week, reciting a list of some of the injuries he has dealt with along the way: many broken ribs, some permanent damage to his ankle, a smashed nose that he says was "nice and flat" before he began sliding for a living.

Oh, and let's not forget the $100,000 or so that he has spent along the way.

All worth it, he says. Getting here, at any price, is enough for most.

"These are huge steps that I've made for myself and my country," said Simidele Adeagbo, a Nigerian skeleton racer. "The first Nigerian woman, the first African woman, the first black woman to be here competing in skeleton is huge already. And I'm really just grateful for that. But on race day, it's about competition. Yes, I'm very proud, but I'm here to compete to the best of my ability."

It seems these Olympics will be the end of Edelman's foray into sliding. He was all-in for the last couple of years, now calls Israel home even though he was born in the U.S., and got to Pyeongchang without even a full-time coach. He has had some help from teams and coaches, but nothing on an everyday basis.

Instead, he is largely self-taught. He said watching skeleton videos for six to eight hours a day allowed him "to develop neuropathways in the brain that would kind of coach me."

He will be among 30 men who will start the Olympic competition on Thursday. After three of the four heats, the field will be pared down to the top 20 for the final run down the track.

Earning a place in that mix will not be easy, but that's his goal.

"I want to get a fourth run," Edelman said. "That's my gold medal, a fourth run."

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