President Donald Trump has threatened possible military action in Nigeria if President Bola Tinubu’s administration fails to curb the killing of Christians in the country.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump said the United States could “go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Trump warned that “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.”
He added, “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! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
The threat comes about 24 hours after the U.S. designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged systematic persecution and killing of Christians.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump had declared that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
He added, “I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’ — But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!”
Trump also directed members of Congress to investigate the situation.
“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me. The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”
A “Country of Particular Concern” designation is issued by the U.S. Secretary of State against nations accused of violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
The violations include torture, prolonged detention without charges, forced disappearances, and flagrant denials of the right to life, liberty, or security of persons. The designation often comes with the possibility of economic sanctions.
Nigeria was previously designated a CPC during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021, but was removed from the list by President Joe Biden in 2021.
The Tinubu administration had earlier denied the allegations of religious persecution in the country.
On October 7, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, dismissed claims by U.S. lawmaker Riley M. Moore as “false and misleading.”
“The allegations are not true. You, as a Nigerian, are aware that the Nigerian government does not deliberately indulge a particular religion to exterminate the other,” Ebienfa told THE WHISTLER.
“From Boko Haram and ISWAP to bandits, they kill both Christians and Muslims. It’s not that the targets are only Christians. We have written to the U.S. government to state clearly that the allegations are not true,” he added.
