Donald Trump, Bola Tinubu, Nigeria, United States, military action, Christians, terrorism, Daniel Bwala, foreign policy, international relations
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US President Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his threat of possible military action in Nigeria over what he described as the “mass killing of Christians,” even as the Nigerian government called for diplomatic engagement to resolve the issue.
Speaking to an AFP reporter aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked whether the United States was considering deploying troops or conducting 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 added.
The comments come a day after Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he had instructed the Pentagon to “map out a possible plan of attack” against Nigeria, claiming Christianity faced “an existential threat” in the country.
“If Nigeria does not stem the killings, the United States will attack — and it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians,” Trump wrote in the post, which has drawn widespread international attention.
In response, Nigerian presidential spokesman Daniel Bwala told AFP that Nigeria remained a key partner of the United States in counterterrorism and that both nations could achieve “better outcomes” through dialogue rather than confrontation.
“Nigeria welcomes US support to fight terrorism as long as it respects our territorial integrity,” Bwala said, adding that the administration does not interpret Trump’s remarks “in the literal sense.”
“We know that Donald Trump has his own style of communication,” he said, suggesting that the post was a provocative way to “force a sit-down between the two leaders so they can iron out a common front to fight insecurity.”
Earlier, Bwala hinted in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that President Bola Tinubu and Trump could meet “in the coming days, either in State House or the White House,” to discuss the matter.
Trump’s latest statements follow his Friday post alleging that “thousands of Christians are being killed” in Nigeria and blaming “Radical Islamists” for the violence.
However, Nigerian authorities have rejected the claim that jihadist attacks are religiously motivated, insisting that victims cut across faiths and ethnicities.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” President Tinubu said on social media Saturday, reiterating his administration’s commitment to national unity and the protection of all citizens regardless of religion.
Trump’s remarks have sparked strong debate globally, with analysts warning that military rhetoric could inflame tensions in West Africa at a time when the region faces overlapping crises of insurgency, displacement, and humanitarian distress.
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