President Donald Trump of the Untied States of America, USA, has threatened military action in Nigeria over ‘killing of Christians’.
Trump had, on Friday, said that Christians in Nigeria are facing an “existential threat,” calling on American lawmakers to investigate “mass slaughter”.
In fact, named Nigeria a “country of particular concern” – a State Department designation for nations “engaged in severe violations of religious freedom.”
Reacting, President Bola Tinubu dismissed the description of Nigeria as a nation hostile to religious freedom, insisting that the country remains committed to protecting the rights of citizens of all faiths.
Tinubu said: “Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.”
In a fiery statement on Saturday, former U.S. President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Nigeria, threatening to deploy American troops “guns-a-blazing” if what he called the “mass killing of Christians by Islamists” continues.
Posting on his Truth Social account, Trump — who once sought the Nobel Peace Prize — revealed that he had instructed the Pentagon to draw up a possible military plan against Nigeria. This came a day after he claimed Christianity was “facing an existential threat” in the West African nation.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately halt all aid and assistance to Nigeria and may move in, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to eliminate the Islamic terrorists responsible for these atrocities,” Trump declared.
“I am hereby directing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we strike, it will be fast, fierce, and decisive — just like the terrorists attack our cherished Christians,” he added, ending with the chilling warning: “THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, continues to grapple with multiple security crises, including extremist insurgencies, communal violence, and ethnic tensions that have claimed thousands of lives — both Christian and Muslim.
On Friday, Trump alleged, without providing evidence, that “thousands of Christians are being killed” in Nigeria by “Radical Islamists.” His remarks have reignited debate around religious tensions in the country, which remains deeply divided between a Muslim-majority north and a largely Christian south.
