Trump threatens Nigeria with possible military action over allegations of Christian persecution

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday he has ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for possible military action in Nigeria as he intensifies his claims that the government is failing to curb the persecution of Christians in the West African country.

The president also warned that he would “immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria.”

“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the United States will immediately cease all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may go into this now disgraceful country, ‘guns blazing, to completely eliminate the Islamic terrorists who are committing these terrible atrocities,’” Trump said on social media. “I hereby instruct our War Department to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be quick, evil and kind, just like the terrorist thugs who attack our dear Christians!”

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The warning came after Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu responded earlier on Saturday to Trump’s announcement the previous day that he would designate the West African country a “country of particular concern” for allegedly failing to curb the persecution of Christians.

In a statement on social media on Saturday, Tinubu said the characterization of Nigeria as a religiously intolerant country does not reflect the national reality.

“Religious freedom and tolerance have been and always will be fundamental principles of our collective identity,” Tinubu said. “Nigeria opposes and does not encourage religious persecution. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all religions.”

Trump said on Friday that “Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria” and “radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”

Trump’s comment came weeks after US Senator Ted Cruz urged Congress to designate Africa’s most populous country as a country violating religious freedom with allegations of “mass killing of Christians.”

Nigeria’s population of 220 million is divided almost equally between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts, including the extremist group Boko Haram, which seeks to consolidate its extremist interpretation of Islamic law, and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.

Attacks in Nigeria have different motives. There are religious motives targeting Christians and Muslims alike, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, sectarian rivalries, separatist groups, and ethnic clashes.

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.

Kembe Ebyanfa, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, affirmed Nigeria’s commitment to protecting citizens of all faiths.

“The Nigerian federal government will continue to stand up for all citizens, regardless of race, creed or religion,” Ebyanfa said in a statement on Saturday. “Like America, Nigeria has no choice but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength.”

Nigeria was placed on a list of countries of special concern by the United States for the first time in 2020 due to what the State Department described as “systematic violations of religious freedom.” This designation, which did not specifically target attacks on Christians, was lifted in 2023 in what observers saw as a way to improve relations between the two countries ahead of the visit of then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Madani reported from West Palm Beach, Florida.