Trump Threatens Nigerian Government Over Claims of Christians Genocide

 The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has threatened to intervene militarily in Nigeria if the alleged genocide against Christians is not immediately halted in the country.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump directed the Department of War to prepare for “possible action” if the killings continued.

The US President also threatened to halt all aid and assistance to Nigeria if President Bola Tinubu’s administration failed to end the alleged persecution and 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.

“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,” he said.

The Federal Government has yet to respond to the threat as of now.

This latest declaration comes barely 24 hours after he designated Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern", lamenting that Christians were facing an “existential threat” in the country.

In a post on Friday, he wrote, “Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern.’ But that is the least of it. When Christians—or any such group—are slaughtered as is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide), something must be done!”

Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, faulted the decision, which to him, is a misrepresentation of the country’s religious reality.

Tinubu reacted through a statement on his official X handle on Saturday, saying the designation was baseless and it failed to reflect the country’s constitutional commitment to religious liberty.

“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” the President wrote.

He insisted that religious freedom and tolerance were “core tenets” of Nigeria’s identity, adding that the government remained committed to protecting all citizens regardless of faith.

“Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it,” he added.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, disclosed that the Federal Government was already in talks with the US over the matter.

“We will continue to engage the United States Government through our missions in Washington, DC, Atlanta, and New York on this matter. Discussions will also continue with the American Embassy in Abuja,” he said.

Also, Africa News Connect gathered that some lawmakers had been selected to travel to DC to meet US congressmen before Trump’s announcement.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described claims of Christian genocide as “gross exaggeration.”

Responding to a post by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who alleged that Fulani militias and radical Islamists were slaughtering Christians in Nigeria, Onanuga insisted that insecurity in the country was not religiously motivated.

“Dear Secretary Rubio, there is no ongoing slaughter of thousands of Christians in Nigeria. What we do have are sporadic attacks on villages by bandits and terrorists, and these attacks are religiously insensitive. Christians, Muslims, churches, and mosques are attacked randomly,” he wrote.

Onanuga added, “What our country needs from America is military support to fight violent extremists in some states, not a designation as a ‘Country of Particular Concern.’”

However, the regional leader of the Church of Christ in Nations, Ezekiel Dachomo, described the designation as a “victory for Nigerian Christians.”

Dachomo, who drew global attention during the mass burial of victims of a recent attack in Heipang, Plateau State, said Trump’s declaration validated long-standing concerns about religious persecution.

“The world is finally acknowledging the cries of Nigerian Christians who have suffered years of attacks without adequate protection,” he said, expressing hope that the move would spur Nigerian authorities to act more decisively to protect citizens.

“We don’t hate Muslims. We hate terrorists and the evil that turns people against one another. This country belongs to all of us, both Christians and Muslims,” he said.

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