United States President Donald Trump has warned that Washington may deploy military forces to Nigeria if the West African country fails to curb what he described as “the killing of Christians by Islamists.”
In a strongly worded statement posted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump said he had directed the Pentagon to draw up a possible plan of attack, insisting that the U.S. would “act decisively” if the situation continued.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. 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 committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump wrote.
The US president, who has often cast himself as a defender of global Christianity, added, “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.”
He concluded his post with a warning: “The Nigerian Government better move fast!”
Trump’s remarks follow his earlier claim on Friday that “thousands of Christians are being killed” in Nigeria — allegations he made without providing evidence.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has for years battled multiple security crises, including terrorist attacks, banditry, and communal violence that have claimed the lives of both Christians and Muslims.
Analysts say Trump’s comments risk further straining relations between Washington and Abuja, especially after his recent decision to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged religious persecution.
Nigeria’s population is nearly evenly split between a Muslim-majority north and a predominantly Christian south, with religious tensions often intersecting with political and ethnic divides.
