Femi Ashekun/
President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to prepare potential military options in response to what he described as the systematic killing of Christians in Nigeria by Islamist militants.
The directive marks a dramatic escalation in Washington’s response to mounting reports of religious persecution in Africa’s most populous nation.
Trump’s order followed intelligence and human rights assessments indicating that Christian communities in Nigeria face what U.S. officials have termed “an existential threat.”
He instructed the Department of Defence to explore possible interventions, including drone strikes and aircraft carrier deployments.
The U.S. State Department has also redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for violations of religious freedom, citing findings by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that recorded over 4,000 Christian deaths in 2024 alone.
In a swift reaction, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu rejected the allegations as “baseless,” insisting that his government remains committed to combating terrorism in all its forms.
He stressed diplomacy and regional cooperation as the most effective tools for addressing insecurity, warning that foreign military involvement could worsen tensions.
In the U.S. Congress, Representative Riley Moore, who had been appointed to lead a House investigation into the alleged genocide, working alongside Chairman Tom Cole, said he would introduce a resolution condemning the ongoing persecution of Christians in Nigeria and supporting Trump’s directive to defend victims of religious violence.
“Thousands have been killed for their faith, and the world has looked away for far too long,” Moore wrote on X. “Between 50,000 and 100,000 Christians have been murdered in Nigeria since 2009, including 7,000 this year alone. No more.”
He thanked Trump for his “incredible leadership” and for trusting him to lead the congressional effort to address the crisis.
While Trump’s order has drawn praise from Christian advocacy groups, protests have erupted in parts of Lagos and Abuja, with demonstrators warning against U.S. military intervention.
Analysts say any American involvement could strain bilateral relations, especially as Nigeria seeks to assert its sovereignty amid growing international scrutiny.
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