President Donald Trump on Saturday escalated his criticism of the Nigerian government, saying he has directed the Pentagon to prepare for possible military action in response to what he called the continued “mass slaughter” of Christians in the West African nation.
“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,” Trump wrote on social media. “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!”
The president’s comments came one day after he designated Nigeria “a country of particular concern,” citing what he described as the government’s failure to protect Christian communities from extremist violence. Trump’s tone, while characteristically blunt, reflects a growing frustration among American conservatives who argue that Nigeria’s Christian population is facing what they call an “existential threat” from radical Islamist militants.
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu responded sharply to Trump’s announcement, rejecting any characterization of the country as religiously intolerant. “Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” Tinubu said in a statement. “Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”
U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced in a post earlier on Truth Social, that he is instructing the “Department of War” to prepare for possible action against Islamic terrorist groups (Boko Haram/ISIS) in Nigeria, stating “we may very well go into that now disgraced country,… pic.twitter.com/7yIyMgfuRi
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) November 1, 2025
Trump doubled down Friday, insisting that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria” and that “radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.” His remarks came just weeks after Senator Ted Cruz urged Congress to formally classify Nigeria as a violator of religious freedom, citing what he called “Christian mass murder.”
Nigeria, home to more than 220 million people split nearly evenly between Christians and Muslims, has long battled extremist groups such as Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province. Both groups have waged brutal insurgencies in the country’s north, targeting churches, villages, and schools.
Although Nigerian officials insist that the violence is complex—often driven by ethnic, economic, and territorial disputes—Trump and other American conservatives have focused squarely on what they describe as a pattern of unchecked attacks on Christian communities.
Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson for Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Saturday that the government “will continue to defend all citizens, irrespective of race, creed, or religion.” He added, “Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength.”
Nigeria was previously placed on the State Department’s “country of particular concern” list in 2020, during the Trump administration, over what U.S. officials then described as “systematic violations of religious freedom.” The designation was lifted in 2023 in what observers said was an attempt by the Biden administration to improve relations ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit.
Trump’s renewed attention to Nigeria’s crisis highlights a theme that has become central to his foreign policy rhetoric: defending religious liberty abroad and confronting regimes that, in his view, fail to protect it. “Peace through strength,” Trump has often said — a principle his supporters see as extending even to the defense of the faithful half a world away.
