United States President, Donald Trump, has again insisted on his condemnation of alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria, reiterating that Christians are being killed in record numbers in the West African nation.

Contents
Christian Genocide Saga
Country of Particular Concern
Tinubu fires back at Trump
Trump’s Guns-a-blazing threat

Trump, who spoke to journalists aboard his Air Force One aircraft while returning to White House on Sunday following a weekend trip to Florida, said the United States is not going to allow the “killings” to continue.

“They’re killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria… They’re killing the Christians and killing them in large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen,” Trump said in a short CNN video sighted by Tribune Online.

Christian Genocide Saga

While allegations of Christian genocide are not new, the saga began again recently after a US comedian and HBO host, Bill Maher, accused Islamist groups of carrying out a genocide against Christians in Nigeria.

“I’m not a Christian, but they are systematically killing the Christians in Nigeria. They’ve killed over a hundred thousand since 2009. They’ve burnt 18,000 churches. These are the Islamists, Boko Haram. This is so much more of a genocide attempt than what is going on in Gaza.

READ ALSO:Christian Genocide: Regha Reveals Why Trump Called Nigeria ‘Disgraced Country’

“They are literally attempting to wipe out the Christian population of an entire country,” Maher said.

Similarly, US Senator Ted Cruz claimed that Nigerian government officials were “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.”

Cruz also lamented that Christians in the country were being targeted for their faith by terrorist groups and “are being forced to submit to sharia law and blasphemy laws across Nigeria.”

He said it was “long past time to impose real costs on the Nigerian officials who facilitate these activities,” adding that he had introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act to the US Senate to sanction such officials.

In the same vein, Riley Moore, who represents West Virginia’s 2nd District in the US Congress, wrote to the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, urging him to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

READ ALSO:US, ‘Preparing For Action’ In Nigeria, Says Department Of War

Moore also called for a suspension of arms sales and technical support to Nigeria until the government demonstrates commitment to ending what he described as “a reign of persecution and slaughter against Christians.”

However, the Nigerian government, alongside Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), rejected these claims, describing the allegation as a harmful misrepresentation of the country’s complex realities.

Country of Particular Concern

While the controversy surrounding Christian genocide claim was already winding down, the US President’s post on his Truth Social account on Saturday, accusing the Nigerian government of allowing what he described as “killing of Christians” brought the issue again to global attention.

Trump, in the post, alleged that Christianity in Nigeria faces an existential threat from radical Islamist groups who he claimed have been targeting Christian communities in different parts of Nigeria, and announced the designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern.

READ ALSO:Christian Genocide’: Trump Designates Nigeria As Country Of Particular Concern

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN” — But that is the least of it.

“When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done! I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me.

“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”

READ ALSO:Trump Breaks Silence On ‘Christian Genocide’ In Nigeria

Tinubu fires back at Trump

Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a statement on Saturday, responded to the allegations from the US President, stating that the country guarantees religious freedom for all.

“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty,” the president wrote in a reaction he personally signed on Saturday and posted on his X handle, @officialABAT.

Trump’s Guns-a-blazing threat

Barely 24 hours after his first comment, President Donald Trump doubled down on the claim, announcing a stop to all aid to Nigeria and ordering his Department of War to prepare for possible action in Nigeria.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the military intervention from the U.S. will “completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

He wrote, “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.

“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!”

Confirming the development, US War Secretary, Pete Hegseth, announced that the department is preparing for military operations in Nigeria, giving the Nigerian government two options.

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The United States has disclosed that it is “preparing for action” in Nigeria following reports of attacks on civilians in the country, particularly members of Christian communities.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post on Saturday, ordered the Department of War to ready itself for “possible action”.

Trump noted that “If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!”

He also warned that the U.S. would halt all aid to Nigeria and could deploy forces “guns-a-blazing” unless the Nigerian government acts swiftly to stop the violence.

“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.

READ ALSO:Ex-US Mayor, Sultan Clash Over Alleged Christian Genocide

“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!”

Reacting to Trump’s post, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X on Sunday that the department is “preparing for action” to protect Christian civilians in Nigeria.

Hegseth said either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or the US will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.

He stated, “Yes, sir. The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

The announcement follows Trump’s recent designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998.

READ ALSO:Trump Breaks Silence On ‘Christian Genocide’ In Nigeria

Trump wrote, “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’ — but that is the least of it.”

He added that “When Christians, or any such group, are slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide), something must be done! I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter and report back to me.

“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world!”

Nigeria now joins the list of nations previously placed under the designation, including Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

The development follows a series of violent attacks in parts of central Nigeria. Earlier this month, AFP reported that gunmen killed at least 14 people in two separate attacks in Plateau State, where clashes between herders and farmers, often divided along religious lines, remain common. Over 100 people were reportedly killed in similar attacks earlier this year.

READ ALSO:Christian Genocide’: Trump Designates Nigeria As Country Of Particular Concern

“Land-use clashes between nomadic cattle herders, often members of the Muslim Fulani ethnic group, and farmers who are mainly Christian are common in central Nigeria,” the AFP report reads.

“The tensions escalated earlier this year after back-to-back massacres in Plateau State that saw more than 100 people killed, with state authorities claiming the killings were part of a ‘genocide’ that was ‘sponsored by terrorists’.”

However, the Federal Government has repeatedly dismissed Christian persecution allegations by some foreign officials, especially from the United States, and claims that Nigeria discriminates against any faith group.
The federal government, however, insists that the country remains a tolerant nation that guarantees freedom of religion for all citizens.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, described the claims, particularly by some United States officials, as misleading and not reflective of Nigeria’s security realities while speaking on CNN on Tuesday night.

READ ALSO:Killings: 130 Pan-Yoruba Groups Petition UN Secretary-general, Warn Of ‘Looming Genocide’

According to the minister, some of the claims made by officials of the United States are based on faulty data and assumptions that the victims of the violence are largely Christians.

“Yes, there are Christians being attacked, but these criminals do not just target one religion. They target Christians and also target Muslims. We have seen that especially in the northern part of the country,” Idris clarified.

The minister warned that such narratives could inflame religious tensions, stressing that the government was committed to ensuring harmony and security for all Nigerians.

“Those promoting such claims are unwittingly playing into the hands of criminals whose ultimate objective is to incite conflict between Christians and Muslims,” he said.

A former Mayor of Blanco City in Texas, United States of America, Mike Arnold, has called on the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar III, to provide evidence to clear himself of his alleged involvement in what he described as “jihad genocide” and widespread killings in the country.

But the Sultanate Council of Sokoto described Arnold’s statement as baseless and undeserving of a response, saying the Sultan would not dignify the accusations with a reply.

The row erupted after Arnold, the founder of Africa Arise International, published a string of social media posts accusing the Sultan of being complicit in mass killings and resource looting in parts of northern Nigeria.

The Sultan had earlier rejected claims that Christians were being subjected to genocide in the North, saying such allegations were false and divisive, and urged the people to verify social media reports.

READ ALSO:Christian Genocide’: Trump Designates Nigeria As Country Of Particular Concern

The Sultanate Council later described the fresh attacks on the monarch’s reputation as baseless and said the Sultan would not dignify the claims with further response.

However, speaking with The PUNCH, Arnold said available data and incidents across the northern part of the country suggested that the Sultan, being the spiritual and temporal head of more than 108 million Muslims, could not be entirely detached from the violent acts occurring “under his nose.”

Arnold questioned what he called the Sultan’s “silence and inaction” amid the wave of violent attacks and mass killings in the North, particularly those targeting Christian communities.

He said, “The evidence points to there being an intelligent designer of this whole diabolical machine of jihad, genocide, conquest, displacement, and resource extraction. There are many provable data points, and I believe the points paint a picture that demands the Sultan be investigated for these things.

READ ALSO:Trump Breaks Silence On ‘Christian Genocide’ In Nigeria

“I am not declaring him guilty, only a prime suspect based on all available evidence. The facts demand investigation and answers to either determine his guilt or clear him of it. Let’s hear his case.

“The Nigerian government estimates that at least $9bn a year in minerals are looted from his own hereditary lands. Why hasn’t he tried to stop this? He has powerful armed militias under his authority, does he not? So why aren’t the illicit miners being stopped? Who is getting that money?”

The former Mayor also alleged that the Sultan had done little to address the rise of militant Fulani groups accused of carrying out numerous attacks, noting that while he once issued a fatwa against Boko Haram after the group challenged his authority, no similar action had been taken against Fulani militants.

“There have been more than 7,000 Christians massacred this year in his territory. If his own statement that no killing happens without traditional rulers knowing about it is true, then he knows more than anybody else,” Arnold said.

READ ALSO:Killings: 130 Pan-Yoruba Groups Petition UN Secretary-general, Warn Of ‘Looming Genocide’

However, the Sultanate Council of Sokoto, while reacting through its Secretary, Alhaji Saidu Maccido, said the Sultan would not dignify the accusations with a reply, noting that both the Federal Government and the Nigerian Senate had already addressed the matter.

Maccido reaffirmed the Sultanate Council’s commitment to peace, unity, and national stability, urging Nigerians to ignore divisive and inflammatory narratives.

“The Sultan will not bring himself down to respond to such allegations again. The Federal Government has responded to the allegations, and I even recall that the Nigerian Senate also passed a resolution on it. Responding again will only make them feel important.

“The Sultanate Council remains focused on promoting peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, and truth. We will not be distracted by baseless accusations,” he added.