US President Donald Trump has threatened to send American forces into Nigeria with “guns-a-blazing” if Africa’s most populous country does not stem what he described as the mass killing of Christians by Islamic extremists.
He believes Christians are facing an “existential” threat in Nigeria and vowed to have the US State Department place the country on its list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC).
Christian advocates have been urging this listing for years because it would allow Washington to enforce sanctions.
In a post on his social media site Truth Social, the president wrote: “Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
US DEPARTMENT OF WAR IS PREPARING FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
Nigeria is consumed by security issues with its northeastern region at the epicentre of a jihadist insurgency by Boko Haram and other Islamic terror groups.
It has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced more than two million since 2009, according to the United Nations.
In central Nigeria, majority-Muslim Fulani herdsmen have repeatedly attacked majority-Christian farmers.
President Trump said he asked the Pentagon to map out a possible plan of attack.
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action.”
‘IF NIGERIA DOESN’T ACT, THE US WILL IMMEDIATELY HALT ALL AID”
“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians,” the US President added, warning the Nigerian government that it “BETTER MOVE FAST!”
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA 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,” he declared.
“Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” he wrote.
“I am hereby making Nigeria a COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.”
“When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!”
TRUMP WAS UNDER INCREASING PRESSURE TO ACT AGAINST NIGERIA
President Trump’s announcement comes as his administration has faced pressure in recent months to label Nigeria a CPC under the International Religious Freedom Act, the top US designation for religious freedom violators, which can carry potential diplomatic burdens, such as sanctions.
The Biden administration lifted Nigeria’s previous CPC designation in 2021.
It was designated a CPC for the first time in the final year of the first Trump administration.
Last month, Republican Representative Riley Moore called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to designate Nigeria a CPC, citing estimates that thousands of Christians have been killed in Nigeria so far this year.
President Trump is asking Representative Moore and Chairman Tom Cole of the House Appropriations Committee “to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me.”
“U.S. IS READY, WILLING AND ABLE TO SAVE OUR GREAT CHRISTIAN POPULATION”
“We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!” the president asserted.
Christian persecution watchdogs say Christians in Nigeria have faced ongoing attacks for years with minimal support from the international community.
Open Doors has warned in recent years that more Christians are killed in Nigeria for their faith annually than in all other countries combined.
International Christian Concern (ICC) says a CPC designation “could significantly improve the lives of many Christians in Nigeria by raising awareness of the ongoing persecution and exerting pressure on the Nigerian government to take action.”
“WE PRAY THE CPC DESIGNATION WILL PROMPT OTHER WORLD LEADERS TO ACT”
“We are deeply grateful for this important recognition,” said ICC President Shawn Wright in response to President Trump’s statement.
“It represents a significant step toward mobilising the global community to confront the atrocities that have devastated so many families and communities in Nigeria.”
“Our prayer is that this designation will encourage other world leaders to follow suit and that it will lead to tangible actions that bring relief and lasting change for those suffering at the hands of violent extremists.”
While some international observers say what’s happening to Christian communities in the Middle Belt states may meet the standard for religious persecution and genocide, the Nigerian government contends that such violence is not inherently religious and emanates from decades-old farmer-herder clashes.
The brutality of the violence in more recent mass killings indicates this is not the case.
NIGERIA REJECTS GENOCIDE CLAIMS, BUT REVEALS NO PLAN TO PROTECT CHRISTIANS
The Nigerian government has strongly pushed back against claims of a genocide, but has also faced allegations that it has not acted adequately to protect its citizens from radicalised groups.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu posted in reaction to President Trump’s CPC threat.
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” President Tinubu added.
He did not address his country’s lack of action to stop the mass killings and better protect Christian communities.
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