US President Donald Trump has stepped up pressure on Nigeria, saying he has ordered the Department of Defence to prepare for possible military action after accusing the country of failing to stop violence against Christians.
In an extended social media post, Trump warned Nigeria it must move fast, he also said that Washington would immediately stop all aid & assistance to Nigeria & threatened the “US 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.”
Trump framed the move as a response to what he described as a mass slaughter of Christians.
The president also said he was instructing the Department of Defence to prepare for action, the post was echoed on social media by Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, who said the Defence Department was preparing for action & demanded that the Nigerian government protect Christians or face US intervention.
Nigeria’s government has repeatedly denied the charges that it is tolerating systematic attacks on Christians.
President Bola Tinubu responded to an earlier US designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act by saying the characterisation does not reflect our national reality & pointed to ongoing efforts by his administration to protect freedom of religion.
Tinubu’s office & other Nigerian officials reiterated that violence in the country is complex: while some attacks are religiously motivated, many stem from disputes over land and resources, communal & ethnic tensions & insurgent activity & both Christians & Muslims have been victims.
Local voices and government spokespeople asked for a different kind of US support. Some called for military assistance to fight violent extremist groups inside Nigeria rather than punitive designations.
Meanwhile, US threats to halt aid and to prepare for military action risk deepening a diplomatic rift & raising the stakes in a country of more than 230 million people with multiple, overlapping security challenges.
