President Donald Trump threatened Nigeria with ending all U.S. aid and ordering military strikes unless the government addresses the persecution of Christians at the hands of Islamic terrorist groups.
Trump warned on Saturday that the U.S. will take the crisis into its own hands if local authorities do not.
“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,” the president declared on Truth Social.
“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! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu responded to the military threats, welcoming U.S. collaboration to fight Islamist insurgents as long as Nigeria’s territorial integrity is respected, according to Reuters.
On Friday Trump named Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern,” a formal designation for countries that have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last Friday. “I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’—But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!”
The president urged Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., to work on the matter and report him their findings.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries,” Trump added. “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World.”
American rapper and songwriter Nicki Minaj thanked the president on X for his efforts to stop the current crisis in Nigeria.
“Reading this made me feel a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can freely worship God. No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion. We don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other. Numerous countries all around the world are being affected by this horror & it’s dangerous to pretend we don’t notice. Thank you to The President & his team for taking this seriously. God bless every persecuted Christian. Let’s remember to lift them up in prayer.”
