President Donald Trump said he has directed the Pentagon to prepare options for potential strikes in Nigeria and warned he would halt U.S. aid, accusing the government of failing to stop killings of Christians. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rejected the characterization, saying Nigeria protects religious freedom.
On Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against Nigeria, saying he had ordered the Pentagon to plan for possible military action and that U.S. aid would cease if attacks on Christians continued. In a Truth Social post, he wrote that the United States might go in "guns-a-blazing" to "wipe out the Islamic Terrorists" and added: "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!" (washingtonpost.com)
Trump’s warning followed his administration’s move a day earlier to place Nigeria back on the U.S. "Countries of Particular Concern" list for severe violations of religious freedom, a designation that can open the door to sanctions. (reuters.com)
Tinubu responded on Saturday, rejecting the portrayal of Nigeria as religiously intolerant. "Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so," he said, emphasizing that Nigeria’s constitution protects citizens of all faiths. (kpbs.org)
Nigeria—home to roughly 237 million people and often described as being roughly evenly split between Christians and Muslims—has grappled for years with violence driven by multiple factors, including jihadist insurgencies like Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa, herder-farmer conflicts, and communal and ethnic rivalries. Analysts note that while Christians are among those targeted, many victims are Muslims in the country’s predominantly Muslim north. (worldometers.info)
Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, a spokesperson for Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the government "will continue to defend all citizens, irrespective of race, creed, or religion," adding, "Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength." (vanguardngr.com)
The United States first designated Nigeria a country of particular concern in 2020. The State Department removed Nigeria from the list in November 2021, a decision criticized by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Nigeria was not re-listed in 2022 or 2023. The Trump administration’s 2025 action reverses that posture. (uscirf.gov)
Trump’s remarks also echo pressure from Capitol Hill. In recent months, Sen. Ted Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act and urged the administration to redesignate Nigeria as a violator of religious freedom. (congress.gov)
