The President of the United States (U.S.), Donald Trump has heightened a diplomatic storm with Nigeria, threatening possible military action.
Trump also threatened an immediate halt to U.S. aid if the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration fails to stop what he described as the “killing of Christians” in the country.
The presidential and explosive warning which was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account, came shortly after President Tinubu vehemently rejected the United States’ characterization of Nigeria as intolerant and insisted the country remains committed to protecting citizens of all faiths.
Trump specifically noted that Christians in Nigeria face an “existential threat” and accused “radical Islamists” of committing a “mass slaughter.”
The U.S. President wrote that he had instructed the Pentagon to map out a plan for a possible military response, warning that the U.S. “will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria” if the killings continue.
Trump also warned that the U.S. “may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists”.
He further said he would designate Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under U.S. rules on religious freedom — a label that clears the way for sanctions and restrictions on non-humanitarian assistance, thus urged Congress to investigate the reported violence.
But in his reaction, President Tinubu rejected the accusation that Nigeria tolerates religious persecution, stressing that “religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so”.
Tinubu, in a statement, stressed that Nigeria opposes religious persecution and protects citizens of all faiths, stressing that the designation and alarmist rhetoric do not reflect Nigeria’s reality.
The diplomatic row follows growing pressure from some U.S. lawmakers and rights campaigners who pointed to repeated attacks on Christian communities in parts of Nigeria which some supporters described as “religious persecution” just as some critics insisted that it’s one slice of a broader insecurity crisis that affects Christians and Muslims alike.
However, the U.S. move to add Nigeria to a watch list signals a significant shift in Washington’s posture toward Africa’s most populous nation and could carry diplomatic and economic consequences if followed by sanctions or aid suspension.
