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Trump reiterates threat of military action in Nigeria over Christian killings
US President Donald Trump on Sunday reaffirmed his threat of a possible military operation in Nigeria over the alleged killings of Christians, even after the Nigerian presidency suggested a diplomatic meeting to address the issue.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked if he was considering deploying US troops or launching air strikes in Nigeria.
He replied, “Could be, I mean, a lot of things, I envisage a lot of things. They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen.”
Trump’s comments followed his explosive post on Truth Social on Saturday, where he revealed that he had directed the Pentagon to map out potential plans of attack in Nigeria.
This came a day after he claimed that Christianity was “facing an existential threat” in Africa’s most populous nation.
In the post, Trump warned that if Nigeria failed to stop the killings, the US would respond swiftly.
“It will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians,” he wrote.
Reacting to Trump’s statement, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesman, Daniel Bwala, told AFP that Nigeria remains a strong partner of the United States in the global fight against terrorism.
“Nigeria welcomes US support to fight terrorism as long as it respects our territorial integrity,” he said.
Bwala downplayed Trump’s remarks, saying they might not be meant literally.
“We know that Donald Trump has his own style of communication,” he noted, adding that the post might be aimed at “forcing a sit-down between the two leaders so they can iron out a common front to fight insecurity.”
Bwala also hinted at the possibility of a meeting between Tinubu and Trump, saying differences about whether terrorists in Nigeria target only Christians or all groups could be resolved in person.
“The differences, if they exist, would be discussed and resolved by the two leaders when they meet in the coming days, either in State House or the White House,” he said, though he declined to give details of the proposed meeting.
Trump had earlier posted on Friday that “thousands of Christians are being killed (and) Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
However, Nigeria has rejected Trump’s claims, insisting that the country is not religiously intolerant.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” President Tinubu stated on social media on Saturday.
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