FACT-CHECK: Did Israel PM promise to establish military base in Nigeria’s South-east?

Introduction

The threats and actions of the US President, Donald Trump, two months ago, seem to have shaped and redefined the security atmosphere in Nigeria.

In November 2025, Trump threatened to move into Nigeria and kill radical Islamists and terrorists who are allegedly slaughtering Christians in Nigeria.

Trump, alongside the US lawmakers, claimed that thousands of Christians have been killed over the years in the northern parts of the country.

Trump also designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

On 25 December, the US president matched words with actions by ordering military strikes on the location of terrorists.

The US government confirmed that in collaboration with the Nigerian military, the strikes hit targets, took out many ISIS fighters in Sokoto State, North-West, and Kwara State, North-Central part of Nigeria.

Another nation to join the US president in speaking up against the alleged killing of Christians in Nigeria recently, is Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his Christmas message, condemned terrorists’ activities, promising to come to the rescue of the victims.

“The persecution of Christians or members of any religion cannot and must not be tolerated, and Muslim militant displacement and attacks against Christians in Nigeria, that too must end, and it must end now,” the Israeli PM said.

Claim

In another video that surfaced a few days ago, Netanyahu was also seen still talking about the alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria.

An X user, @Ogechukwunkere, had posted a video of the Israeli prime minister speaking and claimed that Netanyahu had promised to establish a military base in South eastern Nigeria.

“Breaking News:Israel will establish military base in South eastern Nigeria to enable Israel military to eliminate all the killer terrorist-Natanyahu,” the post read.

The post had generated over 42k views with more than 400 reposts.

Verification

This Fact-checker watched the video from beginning to the end and discovered that at no time did the prime minister promise to establish any military base in Nigeria’s South-east.

He spoke on 31 December.

In the video, Netanyahu said that Israel will open a “new front” focused on protecting Christian communities in parts of Africa and the Middle East, including Nigeria.

Speaking to an audience he identified as Christian Zionists, Netanyahu said Israel was expanding its engagement beyond military confrontations to address growing global threats to Judeo-Christian values.

He stated that Israel recently fought a “seven-front war” and emerged largely victorious, adding that an additional challenge had now arisen.

According to him, the new front is centred on influencing public opinion, particularly among young people, which he described as a battle for “hearts and minds.”

“I see the battle against us and the battle against our Judeo-Christian tradition basically being waged around the globe,” he said.

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