By Ireti Asemota.
On Friday, Trump urged American lawmakers to conduct an investigation into what he referred to as a “mass slaughter” and stated that Christians in Nigeria face an “existential threat.” In point of fact, the State Department designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” which refers to nations “engaged in severe violations of religious freedom.” President Bola Tinubu responded by dismissing the claim that Nigeria is hostile to religious freedom and insisting that the nation is still committed to safeguarding the rights of citizens of all faiths. Tinubu stated, “Religious freedom and tolerance have been and shall always be a core tenet of our collective identity.” Nigeria discourages and opposes religious persecution.
Nigeria Stands for All Faiths, Says Tinubu in Response to Trump
Trump made the threat on Saturday, threatening to send US forces into Nigeria with “guns a-blazing” if the most populous country in Africa does not stop what he said were Islamists killing Christians. The Republican leader, who had run unsuccessfully for the Nobel Peace Prize, said in an explosive post on his Truth Social platform that one day after warning that Christianity was “facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” he asked the Pentagon to draw up a possible attack plan.
He stated, “If the Nigerian Government continues to permit the killing of Christians, the United States of America will immediately cease 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.” “I am giving our Department of War this instruction to prepare for possible action.” He added, “If we attack, it will be swift, vicious, and sweet like the terrorist thugs attack our CHURCHILLANS.
” He said, “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!” at the end of his post.
Nigeria is embroiled in numerous conflicts that experts say have killed both Christians and Muslims without distinction.
Trump on Friday posted, without evidence, that “thousands of Christians are being killed (and) Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
Claims of Christian persecution have also been pushed by some in Nigeria, where ethnic, religious and regional divisions have flared with deadly consequences in the past and still shape the country’s modern politics.
Nigeria’s north, which is mostly Muslim, and its south, which is mostly Christian, are almost evenly distributed.
