Former Deputy Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States, Ambassador Hassan Mohammed, has criticized recent comments attributed to U.S. President Donald Trump, allegedly threatening military action against Nigeria over issues of religious freedom.
In an interview with ARISE News on Monday night, Mohammed explained that while the U.S. has legal provisions to pressure countries on religious rights through its 1998 International Freedom of Religious Act (IFRA), the law does not authorize the U.S. to wage war or launch strikes.
“In 1998, a law came up in the United States — that’s the International Freedom of Religions Act. That act provides the United States the right to pressure any country that is not doing the right thing in terms of religion, religious worship, and religious practices,” he stated.
The former envoy recalled that Nigeria had been previously listed under the Act in 2001 and 2002, but the matter was resolved peacefully through dialogue.
“What is worrying in the pronouncements so far is the fact that President Trump threatened to punish Nigeria in terms of war or strikes, or invasion. This has never happened before,” Mohammed said.
He emphasized that the IFRA was created to promote fairness and accountability in managing religious affairs, not to justify threats of violence or war.
“The provision is that they want you to come clean, to make sure that you are fair to everybody. And once you fail, they will put some pressure on you, on your country to perform,” he noted.
According to him, the legislation encourages fairness and reform rather than aggression.
“There is nothing in the Act that gives the United States the right to declare war on a nation because of religious violations. What Trump has done now, or threatened to do, shows that there is more than meets the eye. We may discover the motivations in due course,” he added.
Mohammed’s comments follow growing international debate over alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria and Trump’s controversial post on his Truth Social platform, where he warned that the U.S. might “go in guns blazing” if Nigeria failed to act.
“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.
In reaction to the outcry, the Nigerian President dismissed the claims of a “Christian genocide” over the weekend, reaffirming that the country remains a democracy that upholds religious freedom and equality for all citizens.
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