United States President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy American military forces to Nigeria if the alleged persecution of Christians in the country does not stop — a move that has sparked strong reactions from Abuja.
In a post shared on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Mr Trump ordered the U.S. Department of War to “prepare for possible action” should the killings continue. He also warned that Washington would immediately halt all aid and assistance to Nigeria if President Bola Tinubu’s government failed to end what he described as “the killing of Christians.”
“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,” Mr Trump wrote.
The threat follows his decision a day earlier to classify Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, alleging that Christianity faced an “existential threat” within its borders.
President Bola Tinubu swiftly rejected the designation, calling it a misrepresentation of Nigeria’s religious reality. “Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty,” he said in a statement, insisting that religious freedom and tolerance were “core tenets” of national identity.
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Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa confirmed that Abuja was already engaging U.S. officials through diplomatic channels in Washington, Atlanta, New York, and Abuja. A Nigerian parliamentary delegation is also expected to travel to the U.S. to discuss the issue with lawmakers.
Presidential adviser Bayo Onanuga dismissed claims of genocide as “gross exaggeration,” stressing that insecurity in Nigeria was not religiously motivated. “Bandits and terrorists attack both Christians and Muslims, as well as churches and mosques,” he said, urging Washington to offer military support rather than condemnation.
Former Ambassador Dr Yemi Farounbi warned that the controversy could harm Nigeria’s diplomatic and economic relations with Western partners. “America and its allies may now view Nigeria as intolerant of religious freedom — that’s bad for our image,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, appealed for calm, describing the situation as “a moment for reflection, not emotion.”
However, Evangelist Ezekiel Dachomo of the Church of Christ in Nations hailed the U.S. stance as a “victory for Nigerian Christians,” saying it drew overdue global attention to religiously motivated violence.
