Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has cautioned Nigerians against celebrating US President Donald Trump’s recent threat of military intervention in Nigeria, calling it “dangerous and misguided.”
Sowore, in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) early Sunday, described Trump’s comments as perilous, arguing that U.S. interventions historically bring chaos rather than peace.
“Trump’s threat to launch a military action in Nigeria under the guise of protecting Christians may sound appealing to some,” Sowore wrote. “But history has shown that such actions lead only to greater instability.”
He cited U.S. military failures in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, stressing that Nigeria’s progress must come from within, not from foreign powers.
“Whether you are Christian, Muslim, animist, or non-religious, no one should applaud this rhetoric,” he added. “What Nigeria truly needs is accountable leadership that protects citizens and ends corruption and violence—not bombs or boots from abroad.”
Sowore also accused Trump of political opportunism, saying the U.S. president “does not care about Nigerians—Christian, Muslim, or otherwise.”
“Our deliverance will never come from abroad; it must come from within, through real leadership and national renewal,” he said.
Trump had on Saturday threatened to send U.S. troops into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” if the Nigerian government failed to stop what he called the “killing of Christians by Islamists.”
Earlier on Friday, he designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” over alleged religious persecution, claiming Christianity faces “an existential threat.”
“Thousands of Christians are being killed,” Trump said. “If the Nigerian government continues to allow this, the U.S. will stop all aid and may intervene militarily.”
He further instructed the Pentagon to prepare a potential “plan of attack,” warning that any U.S. strike would be “fast, vicious, and sweet.”
Trump’s comments followed a petition by U.S. lawmaker Riley Moore, who urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and suspend arms sales until the Nigerian government shows progress in curbing religious violence.
However, President Bola Tinubu rejected the U.S. allegations, stating on X that Nigeria remains “a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.”
“The description of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” Tinubu said. “Freedom of religion and belief are core to our collective identity.”
Nigeria was first listed as a CPC in December 2020 during Trump’s first term but was removed by the Biden administration in November 2021, sparking backlash among U.S. conservatives.
Under U.S. law, the CPC designation applies to countries that tolerate or engage in “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”
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