US President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 25, 2025. Trump on Monday suggested that a "purge or revolution" was underway in South Korea, hours before new President Lee Jae Myung was due at the White House. He did not specify to what he was referring but said he would bring it up with Lee. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)
US President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy military forces to Nigeria if the alleged killing of Christians in the country continues.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump directed the US Department of War to prepare for “possible action” should the Nigerian government fail to stop what he described as genocide against Christians.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA 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,” 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.”
As of press time, the Federal Government had yet to issue an official response.
Trump’s comments come just a day after he designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, alleging that Christians in the nation face an “existential threat.”
“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,” President Bola Tinubu said in a statement on X.
He described Trump’s claim as “baseless,” insisting that religious freedom and tolerance remain “core tenets” of Nigeria’s identity.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that talks were ongoing with the US through its missions in Washington, Atlanta, and New York. A delegation of Nigerian lawmakers is also expected to visit Washington soon to engage U.S. congressmen on the issue.
Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed claims of a Christian genocide as “gross exaggeration.”
Responding to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks, Onanuga said.
“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 are not religiously motivated. Christians, Muslims, churches, and mosques are attacked randomly.”
He added that what Nigeria truly needs from the U.S. is military support to combat terrorism, not international condemnation.
A former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dr. Yemi Farounbi, warned that Trump’s remarks could damage Nigeria’s diplomatic and economic relations with Western nations.
“This will make America and its allies see Nigeria as a country where freedom of worship is not adequately protected. That is bad for our image,” he said.
Farounbi cautioned that the designation could also threaten Nigeria’s access to U.S. military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and weapons systems all vital to its ongoing security operations.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Nigeria remains one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest arms importers, sourcing weapons from the US, China, Italy, Turkey, and Russia.
Notable acquisitions include 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft under a $500 million deal signed in 2018 and a $997 million package for AH-1Z attack helicopters approved in 2022.
In August 2025, Washington approved an additional $346 million sale, strengthening defence cooperation between both nations.
Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese urged Nigerians to stay calm and avoid hasty reactions.
“We must wait to see the outcome and what lessons can be drawn from this development for our national growth,” Kukah told Sunday PUNCH.
Meanwhile, Evangelist Ezekiel Dachomo of the Church of Christ in Nations described Trump’s declaration as a “victory for Nigerian Christians.”
“The world is finally acknowledging the cries of Nigerian Christians who have suffered years of attacks without protection,” Dachomo said.
“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.”
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