United States President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy American military forces to Nigeria if the alleged persecution and killing of Christians in the country continue.
In a fiery post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump said he had directed the U.S. Department of War to prepare for “possible action” against what he described as “Islamic terrorists” responsible for the alleged atrocities.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria and may very well go into that now disgraced country ‘guns-a-blazing’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump declared.
“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.”
As of press time, the Federal Government of Nigeria had yet to respond officially to Trump’s threat.
The latest statement comes just 24 hours after the U.S. President designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over what he termed an “existential threat” to Christians in the country.
In his Friday post, Trump wrote:
“Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern.’ But that is the least of it. When Christians — or any such group — are slaughtered as is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide), something must be done!”
Reacting to the designation, President Bola Tinubu dismissed the claim as a misrepresentation of Nigeria’s religious reality, describing the U.S. stance as “baseless.”
In a statement posted on his official X handle on Saturday, Tinubu maintained that Nigeria remained committed to religious liberty and tolerance.
“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” the President said.
He added that the country’s diversity was anchored on mutual respect among faiths, noting that the government was committed to protecting every citizen, irrespective of religion.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Nigeria was already engaging with the U.S. government over the issue.
Spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa said, “We will continue to engage the United States Government through our missions in Washington DC, Atlanta, and New York on this matter. Discussions will also continue with the American Embassy in Abuja.”
Sources within the National Assembly disclosed that a delegation of lawmakers would soon travel to Washington to meet with U.S. congressmen over the development.
A ranking House of Representatives member told Sunday PUNCH that the trip would be “fast-tracked” following Trump’s announcement.
“The President’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern does not make it law. It will have to go through U.S. lawmakers. A delegation, of which I am a member, was already scheduled to visit, and that visit will now be expedited,” the lawmaker explained.
Responding to the allegations of Christian genocide, Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the claims as “gross exaggeration.”
Reacting to a post by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who alleged that Fulani militias and radical Islamists were slaughtering Christians, Onanuga insisted that Nigeria’s insecurity challenges were not religiously motivated.
“Dear Secretary Rubio, there is no ongoing slaughter of thousands of Christians in Nigeria. What we do have are sporadic attacks on villages by bandits and terrorists, and these attacks are not religiously targeted. Christians, Muslims, churches, and mosques are attacked randomly,” he wrote.
He further stressed that what Nigeria needed from Washington was military support to combat violent extremists, not political condemnation.
“What our country needs from America is military support to fight violent extremists in some states, not a designation as a ‘Country of Particular Concern,’” Onanuga added, before concluding pointedly: “Secretary Rubio, Muslim lives matter too.”
