US President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of War (DoW) to prepare for a military offensive against Nigeria over the failure of the country’s government to stop the persecution of Christians.
Writing in a post of his social media platform yesterday (Saturday), Trump said the U.S. could go in “guns-a-blazing” and halt aid if the government there “continues to allow the killing of Christians.”
“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 who are committing these horrible atrocities. I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action,” he said.
He added: WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
Trump’s latest declaration comes barely 24 hours after he designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, lamenting that Christians were facing an “existential threat” in the country.
In a post on Friday, he wrote, “Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern.’ But that is the least of it. When Christians—or any such group—are slaughtered as is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide), something must be done!”
After Trump’s first post, President Bola Tinubu pushed back, saying “the characterisation 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.”
The president said his administration had taken steps to maintain “an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions.”
Tinubu added that he was committed to working with the U.S. and the international community to “deepen understanding and cooperation on protection of communities of all faiths.”
The federal government was yet to respond to Trump’s threat.
