Amid reports of alleged Christian killings in Nigeria, US President Donald Trump has warned of military action in retaliation to the alleged killings of in the west African country. Trump on Saturday said he has asked the Defense Department to prepare for possible “fast” military action in Nigeria if it fails to crack down on the killing of Christians.
In a post on his Truth Social account, he also said the US government will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, which he dubbed a “disgraced country”. Warning the Nigerian government, he said if it fails to protect the Christians, the US would go “guns-a-blazing to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities”.
Also read: ‘Religious freedom, tolerance…’: Nigeria rejects Trump’s Christian killings claim
“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! (sic)” Trump further wrote.
What has the White House said?
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to X and said that the Department of War is preparing for action. “Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Hegseth wrote on X.
Trump administration recently added Nigeria back to a “Countries of Particular Concern” list that includes countries such as China, Russia, Pakistan, Myanmar and north Korea. These nations, the US says, have violated religious freedom.
During his first term, Trump had put Nigeria on the list of “Countries of Particular Concern’, while his Democratic successor Joe Biden removed it from the US State Department list in 2021.
Without offering any details or evidences, Trump on Friday said “thousands of Christians” were being killed in Nigeria by radical Islamists prompting a response from Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who defended his country’s efforts to protect religious freedom.
Nigeria’s response to Trump’s attack
“The characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians,” Tinubu was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement saying that the country vowed to keep fighting violent extremism and hoped that Washington would remain a close ally. “Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength,” it said.
Nigeria has a population of about 230 million with roughly split between Christians and Muslims. Both the communities have faced attacks. In April, at least 40 people were reportedly killed when Muslim gunmen attacked a Christian farming community. The country has faced security risks from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and is know to have targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.
