Trump orders Pentagon to plan army motion over Nigerias Christian persecution

U.S. President Donald Trump has mentioned he’s ordered the Pentagon to start planning for potential army motion in Nigeria as he stepped up his criticism that the federal government is failing to rein within the persecution of Christians within the West African nation.

“If the Nigerian authorities continues to permit the killing of Christians, the usA. will instantly cease all support and help to Nigeria and should very effectively go into that now disgraced nation, guns-a-blazing, to utterly wipe out the Islamic terrorists who’re committing these horrible atrocities,” Mr. Trump posted on social media on Saturday (November 1, 2025).

“I’m hereby instructing our Department of War to arrange for doable motion. If we assault, will probably be quick, vicious, and candy, identical to the terrorist thugs assault our CHERISHED Christians!” he added.

The warning of doable army motion got here after Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier on Saturday (November 1, 2025) pushed again on Trump saying a day earlier that he was designating the West African nation “a rustic of specific concern” for allegedly failing to rein within the persecution of Christians.

In a social media assertion on Saturday (November 1, 2025), Mr. Tinubu mentioned the characterisation 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 identification and shall all the time stay so,” Mr. Tinubu mentioned. “Nigeria opposes non secular persecution and doesn’t encourage it. Nigeria is a rustic with constitutional ensures to guard residents of all faiths,” he added.

Mr. Trump on Friday (October 31, 2025) mentioned, “Christianity is going through an existential risk in Nigeria,” and “radical Islamists are liable for this mass slaughter”.

Mr. Trump’s remark got here weeks after U.S. Senator Ted Cruz urged Congress to designate Africa’s most populous nation as a violator of non secular freedom with claims of “Christian mass homicide.”

Nigeria’s inhabitants of 220 million is cut up virtually equally between Christians and Muslims. The nation has lengthy confronted insecurity from numerous fronts, together with the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to ascertain its radical interpretation of Islamic legislation and has additionally focused Muslims it deems not Muslim sufficient.

Attacks in Nigeria have various motives. There are religiously motivated ones concentrating on each Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling sources, communal rivalries, secessionist teams, and ethnic clashes.

While 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 Foreign Affairs, reiterated the dedication of Nigeria to guard residents of all religions.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria will proceed to defend all residents, regardless of race, creed, or faith,” Ebienfa mentioned in a press release on Saturday (November 1, 2025). “Like America, Nigeria has no possibility however to have fun the range that’s our best energy.”

Nigeria was positioned on the nation of specific concern record by the US for the primary time in 2020 over what the State Department referred to as “systematic violations of non secular freedom”.

The designation, which didn’t single out assaults on Christians, was lifted in 2023 in what observers noticed as a method to enhance ties between the nations forward of then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s go to.