United States President Donald Trump has threatened potential military action against Nigeria, claiming the West African nation is failing to protect Christians from violence. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump warned that the United States would immediately cut off all assistance to Nigeria if the government continues to allow what he described as the killing of Christians.
Trump posted that the US may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns blazing, to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities. He added that he has instructed the recently renamed Department of War to prepare for possible action. The president warned that if we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians.
The statement came one day after Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act, claiming that Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. The label suggests the administration has found that Nigeria has engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu pushed back against the characterization, stating that it does not reflect the 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 emphasized that religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of Nigeria’s collective identity, and that Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.
Nigeria’s population of 220 million is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.
Tinubu’s press secretary, Bayo Onanuga, responding to a social media post from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, called the characterization a gross exaggeration of the Nigerian situation, adding that Christians, Muslims, churches and mosques are attacked randomly. Onanuga stated that what Nigeria requires from America is military support to fight these violent extremists in some states, not designation as a nation of particular concern.
The country is consumed by security issues, with its northeastern region at the epicenter of a Boko Haram jihadist insurgency, which has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced more than two million since 2009, according to the United Nations. In central Nigeria, majority Muslim herders have repeatedly clashed with majority Christian farmers.
While Christians are among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria’s Muslim majority north, where most attacks occur. Ebenezer Obadare, a senior fellow for Africa Studies at the Washington DC based Council on Foreign Relations, stated that the wrong thing to do is to invade Nigeria and override the authority of the Nigerian government, adding that doing that will be counterproductive.
United States Senator Ted Cruz of Texas praised Trump’s decision, stating that he has fought for years to counter the slaughter and persecution of Christians in Nigeria. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole and other Republican lawmakers also commended the president’s action.
Nigeria was placed on the Country of Particular Concern list by the United States for the first time in 2020 over what the State Department called systematic violations of religious freedom. The designation was lifted in 2023 in what observers saw as a way to improve ties between the countries ahead of then Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit.
The Trump administration’s escalating rhetoric marks a significant shift in United States policy toward one of Africa’s most populous nations and a key American ally in regional counterterrorism efforts. Tinubu stated his administration has taken steps to maintain an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions.
