United States President, Mr. Donald Trump, Saturday said he had ordered the Department of War to prepare for possible military operations in Nigeria over the killing of Christians.
He also threatened to immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria.
He added that the US would carry out military action against the country to completely wipe out those he described as the Islamic terrorists responsible for the killing of Christians.
This is just as the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, in his reaction, said the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria and anywhere must immediately come to an end.
In a related development, Senator Ted Cruz also vowed to advance legislation aimed at tackling the enforcement of Sharia and blasphemy laws in Nigeria, following Trump’s redesignation of the country as a “Country of Particular Concern”.
Trump had on Friday designated Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern,’ citing alleged widespread killings of Christians and rising religious intolerance.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“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.
The ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ is a list of nations the US considers to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
The list includes: China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Pakistan, among others, according to the State Department website.
The US President emphasised that action must be taken when people are persecuted for their faith.
Barely 24 hours after designating Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” Trump, in a remarkable twist last night, threatened military action against Nigeria.
He ordered the US Department of War to prepare for possible military action against Nigeria.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA 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 posted on social media.
“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!” he added.
While reacting to the development, US Secretary of War Hegseth said the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria and anywhere must immediately come to an end.
In a tweet on his X handle on Saturday, he added that his Department of War was preparing for action to protect Christians from Islamic terrorists.
Hegseth stressed it is either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or the US would kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing what he described as “horrible atrocities.”
“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 tweet read.
Also speaking on the issue, US Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) affirmed President Trump’s threat to take military action against Nigeria.
He said, “President Trump has provided a forewarning that if you do not correct the current state of inaction to stop the killing of our brothers and sisters in Christ in your country. The days of the US looking the other way are over it will never happen on Trump’s watch.
“I urge you to cooperate with us in preventing this atrocity that worsens every day. We want your people to live in peace all of them, especially Christians.
“‘The President has been clear. I would not test his resolve. Many have tried and all have failed.
“We will not allow the gates of hell to prevail against the faithful.”
US Senator Ted Cruz Pushes Bill against Sharia, Blasphemy Laws in Nigeria
Meanwhile, United States Senator Cruz has vowed to advance legislation aimed at tackling the enforcement of Sharia and blasphemy laws in Nigeria.
In a statement released on his official website, Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, said the move aligns with his long-standing efforts to protect Christians allegedly facing religious persecution in Nigeria.
“I am deeply gratified to President Trump for making this determination,” the statement read. “I have fought for years to counter the slaughter and persecution of Christians in Nigeria, and this year introduced legislation that will lock in the designation made today.”
Cruz added that his proposed legislation would introduce additional sanctions and accountability measures against Nigerian officials who “implement or support blasphemy and Sharia laws.”
Human rights groups have often criticised the use of blasphemy laws, citing incidents where individuals accused of blasphemy were killed by mobs or sentenced to death by religious courts.
Recall that in early September, Cruz had proposed a bill seeking to protect “persecuted” Christians in Nigeria.
Festus Akanbi, Deji Elumoye, Michael Olugbode
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