United States (US) President Donald Trump has threatened to launch additional military strikes in Nigeria if attacks on Christians by terrorist groups and bandits persist.
Trump issued the warning during an interview with The New York Times (NYT) to align with his consistent claims that Christians are being targeted in attacks.
He was responding to a question on whether the Christmas Day missile strikes against the Islamic State terror group signalled the start of a wider military campaign in the West Africa state.
The strikes came roughly a month after President Trump threatened to deploy US troop1s to Nigeria, saying they would go in “guns-a-blazing to wipe out the terrorists killing our cherished Christians,” amid repeated claims by some US politicians that Christians were being targeted for genocide.
Following the strikes, Trump had warned that further action could take place, a position he reiterated in the NYT interview published on Thursday.
“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” he said, adding: “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”
In October, Trump’s Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, said extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS were killing more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria.
When asked about his Adviser’s remarks, Trump responded: “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians.”
However, acknowledging for the first time that Muslims are also victims of killings by terrorists in Nigeria, President Trump noted in the interview that not a single religion is being affected, but even at that, Christians were the major victims.
The Nigerian government has consistently dismissed allegations that Christians are being deliberately targeted for killing.
According to Ademola Oshodi, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Foreign Affairs and Protocol, Nigeria maintained control over the decision-making surrounding the single operation that hit target around Sokoto state in the country’s North West region.
In late October 2025, President Trump had noted that Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria and threatened to militarily intervene in the West African country over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
In the circumstance, he redesignated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern and accused the government of being weak to protect lives.
Amid the warning, the Federal Government later sent a high-powered delegation to the United States (US) to highlight Nigeria’s security situation.
Arising from that visit, top American officials also visited Nigeria to get first-hand accounts of the security situation.
