President Donald Trump said Saturday he has ordered the U.S. Department of Defense to prepare for possible military action in Nigeria, escalating tensions after accusing the West African nation of committing violence against Christians — an allegation the Nigerian government has repeatedly denied.
In a fiery post on his social media platform, Trump condemned what he described as the “mass slaughter” of Christians in Nigeria and announced that the United States would “immediately stop all aid and assistance” to the country unless its government acted swiftly to address the alleged crisis.
“The U.S. 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,” Trump wrote. “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! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a close Trump ally, publicly endorsed the president’s order on social media, saying the Defense Department — which Trump referred to as the “Department of War” — was preparing contingency plans.
“The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately,” Hegseth wrote. “Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Trump’s declaration follows his administration’s decision on Friday to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act, citing “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” The move effectively places Nigeria under formal U.S. scrutiny, opening the door for potential sanctions or other punitive measures.
Trump said Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria, claiming his administration has documented widespread persecution and killings targeting Christians. But the Nigerian government immediately rejected the U.S. accusations, describing them as inaccurate and unfair.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, responding through a social media post, said the characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant “does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.”
Tinubu added that Nigeria remains committed to working with the United States and the international community “to deepen understanding and cooperation on protection of communities of all faiths.”
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga went further, describing the U.S. designation and comments from Washington officials as “a gross exaggeration of the Nigerian situation.” He said that “Christians, Muslims, churches, and mosques are attacked randomly,” emphasizing that the violence is not rooted in religion but in deeper socio-economic and communal conflicts.
“What our country requires from America is military support to fight these violent extremists in some states of our country, not designation as a nation of particular concern,” Onanuga said.
Experts and local observers say the violence in Nigeria stems from a complex mix of factors, including insurgencies by groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), as well as deadly attacks on farmers by herders over land and resources. Christian communities have suffered major attacks in recent years. Predominantly Christian areas like Plateau, Benue and Southern Kaduna have recorded concentrated attacks, resulting in the killings of hundreds.
The Nigerian authorities surprisingly started rehabilitation programs for “repentant terrorists”, a move that has been widely condemned as shielding them from punishment and mocking their victims. The Nigerian government has released over 2,553 former Boko Haram terrorists in nine years.
If carried out, a U.S. military operation in Nigeria would mark a major escalation in Washington’s engagement in West Africa, where American forces have maintained only a limited counterterrorism presence. It would also test U.S.-Nigeria relations, which have been anchored on security cooperation, economic development, and shared democratic values.
However, Trump’s threat has injected new uncertainty into diplomatic ties between the two nations, with Washington’s human rights claims clashing with Abuja’s insistence that the crisis is being misrepresented for political ends.