U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare for potential military action in Nigeria, accusing the government of failing to protect Christians from extremist attacks.
Trump said on social media on Saturday that he had directed the “Department of War” to begin planning for “possible action” against Islamist militant groups, warning that the United States would halt all aid to Nigeria unless it intervened. “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and may go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing,” Trump wrote. “If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet.”
His statement came after he designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” a U.S. classification that allows sanctions against governments accused of severe violations of religious freedom. Trump claimed that Christianity faced an “existential threat” in Nigeria and that “thousands” of Christians had been killed, though he provided no evidence.
Secretary of State for War Pete Hegseth responded online, saying, “Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, quickly dismissed the accusations, saying the portrayal of Nigeria as a religiously intolerant country “does not reflect our national reality.” He stressed that religious freedom is a constitutional right and that violence in the country affects “people across faiths and regions.”
An adviser to Tinubu, Daniel Bwala, said both leaders shared a commitment to fighting terrorism “in all its forms” and that any differences over whether only Christians or all faiths were targeted “would be addressed when Trump meets Tinubu in the coming days.”
Nigeria, with a population of about 220 million people evenly divided between Christians and Muslims, has battled multiple security challenges for years. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have killed thousands—most of them Muslims—in the country’s northeast.
In central Nigeria, clashes between mostly Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities have also turned deadly, often driven by disputes over land and resources rather than religion. Human rights groups and conflict analysts say there is no evidence that Christians are being systematically targeted more than Muslims.
Despite the tensions, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated its commitment to protecting citizens of all faiths, emphasizing that diversity remains the country’s greatest strength.
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