Trump tells Department of Defense to ‘prepare for possible action’ in Nigeria
President Donald Trump said Saturday he has asked the Defense Department to “prepare for possible action” in Nigeria following the alleged killings of Christians in the country.
“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the United States will immediately cease all aid and assistance to Nigeria and may very well go to that now disgraced country, ‘with guns blazing,’ to completely eliminate the Islamist terrorists who are committing these horrific atrocities,” Trump wrote on social media.
“If we attack, it will be swift, vicious and gentle, just like the terrorist thugs attack our Christian Christians! WARNING: NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER ACT QUICKLY!” Trump added.
Trump’s announcement comes a day after he listed Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” a designation the United States gives to countries the government considers to be engaging in “particularly serious violations of religious freedom.” Other countries on the list include China, Cuba and North Korea.
The Nigerian government issued a statement on Saturday following the designation, saying it remained committed to combating what it called “violent extremism.”
“Like America, Nigeria has no choice but to celebrate the diversity which is our greatest strength. Nigeria is a God-fearing country where we respect faith, tolerance, diversity and inclusion, in line with the rules-based international order,” the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
During his first term, Trump declared Nigeria a country of particular concern, an action that former President Joe Biden’s administration reversed in 2021, when former Secretary of State Antony Blinken deemed the country “did not meet the criteria” for inclusion in the CCP’s list.
