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President Donald Trump threatened Saturday to cut off all U.S. aid to Nigeria and said he had ordered the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action” in response to what he called the country’s failure to stop the persecution of Christians.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused Nigeria’s government of “not doing enough” to prevent killings of Christians and warned that the United States “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.”
“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!” Trump wrote.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to endorse the president’s message on X, writing, “Yes sir.”
“The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action,” Hegseth said, using the Trump administration’s preferred term for the Defense Department. “Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Nigeria’s government swiftly rejected the claims. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said Saturday that Trump’s characterization “does not reflect the national reality,” insisting that “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,” Tinubu said. “Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”
Analysts and human rights groups note that while Christians have been among those targeted in Nigeria’s ongoing violence, the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in the country’s northern, Muslim-majority states, where most attacks occur.
Trump’s warning of possible military action came a day after he announced plans to designate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” for religious freedom, a classification under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” Trump said Friday, adding that “Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
The “country of particular concern” designation allows the administration to impose sanctions or cut off non-humanitarian aid but does not automatically trigger penalties. Trump said he would ask several members of Congress to “look into the matter and report back” on next steps.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries,” he said. “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the world!”
The State Department traditionally issues annual religious freedom reports in the spring, often accompanied by such designations. Last year’s report, issued under the Biden administration, covered the 2023 calendar year and noted continued violence by extremist groups in Nigeria but did not label the country as one of “particular concern.”
Nigeria was first placed on that list in 2020 during Trump’s first term for “systematic violations of religious freedom,” though the designation did not single out attacks on Christians. It was removed in 2023 in what observers saw as an effort to strengthen U.S.-Nigeria relations ahead of a visit by then–Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and other evangelical allies have recently pushed Congress to reinstate the designation, citing what they describe as “Christian mass murder” in the region.
