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President Donald Trump said he’s instructing the Defense Department to “prepare for possible action” in Nigeria, claiming the nation’s government “continues to allow the killing of Christians.”
Trump made the announcement Saturday on Truth Social, one day after he declared that Nigeria is a “country of particular concern.” The U.S. government uses this designation for nations determined to have committed “particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” according to the State Department’s website.
“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,” the president wrote.
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action,” he continued. “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!”
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs pushed back on Trump’s designation in a statement on Saturday morning.
“Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength. Nigeria is a God-fearing country where we respect faith, tolerance, diversity and inclusion, in concurrence with the rules-based international order,” the statement reads.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also pushed back on Trump’s characterization of the nation on Saturday morning.
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” he said in a statement. “Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”
Trump’s designation also caught the attention of rapper Nicki Minaj, who praised the decision on X.
“Thank you to The President & his team for taking this seriously,” Minaj wrote. “God bless every persecuted Christian. Let’s remember to lift them up in prayer.”
Nigeria’s population of 230 million people is mostly split between Christians and Muslims. There are also armed insurgent groups operating in the nation, including the Islamic extremist organization Boko Haram, which has also targeted Muslims, the Associated Press reports.
There have been religiously-motivated attacks targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, according to AP. Analysts have said the majority of attacks by armed groups happen in northern Nigeria, where the population is primarily Muslim, and that the majority of victims are Muslims, the outlet added.
Source: Yahoo News
