ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday stated he’s ordered the Pentagon to start planning for potential navy motion in Nigeria as he stepped up his criticism that the federal government is failing to rein in the persecution of Christians within 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 posted 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 warning of attainable navy motion got here after Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier on Saturday pushed again on Trump asserting a day earlier that he was designating the West African nation “a country of particular concern” for allegedly failing to rein within the persecution of Christians.
In a social media assertion on Saturday, Tinubu stated that the characterization of Nigeria as a religiously illiberal nation doesn’t mirror the nationwide actuality.
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” Tinubu stated. “Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”
Trump on Friday stated “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria” and “radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
Trump’s remark got here weeks after U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz urged Congress to designate Africa’s most populous nation as a violator of non secular freedom with claims of “Christian mass murder.”
Nigeria’s inhabitants of 220 million is break up nearly equally between Christians and Muslims. The nation has lengthy confronted insecurity from varied fronts together with the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to ascertain its radical interpretation of Islamic regulation and has additionally focused Muslims it deems not Muslim sufficient.
Assaults in Nigeria have various motives. There are religiously motivated ones focusing on each Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling assets, communal rivalries, secessionist teams and ethnic clashes.
Whereas Christians are amongst these focused, analysts say nearly all of victims of armed teams are Muslims in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, the place most assaults happen.
Kimiebi Ebienfa, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Overseas Affairs, reiterated the dedication of Nigeria to guard residents of all religions.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria will continue to defend all citizens, irrespective of race, creed, or religion,” Ebienfa stated in a press release on Saturday. “Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength.”
Nigeria was positioned on the nation of explicit concern listing by the U.S. for the primary time in 2020 over what the State Division known as “systematic violations of religious freedom.” The designation, which didn’t single out assaults on Christians, was lifted in 2023 in what observers noticed as a approach to enhance ties between the international locations forward of then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s go to.
Madhani reported from West Palm Seashore, Fla.
