United States President, Donald Trump, has issued a warning to the Nigerian government, threatening to halt all US aid and assistance, including taking a military action if what he described as the “killing of Christians” continued in the country.
In a post shared on his Truth Social account on Saturday night, Trump accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks and said America could intervene militarily to “wipe out” the perpetrators.
Trump’s latest threat was a follow-up to his re-designation of Nigeria as A ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (CPC) vis his Truth Social media platform on Friday over alleged persecution of Christians in the country. The move, announced through the U.S. State Department, reinstated a classification first introduced during his administration in 2020 but later dropped by his successor President Joe Biden in 2021.
“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 wrote.
“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! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
LEADERSHIP recalls that the CPC designation is reserved for nations accused of engaging in or tolerating “severe violations of religious freedom.” It could lead to diplomatic sanctions or restrictions on US foreign assistance.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has dismissed Friday’s remarks by United States President Donald Trump, alleging widespread killings of Christians in Nigeria and declaring the country a CPC.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the government said Trump’s claims did not accurately reflect the situation in Nigeria.
Afterwards on Saturday, President Bola Tinubu personally issued another statement dismissing President Trump’s claims.
