Explained: Why Trump Threatened To Go ‘Guns-A-Blazing’ Into Nigeria

Last Updated:November 03, 2025, 14:47 IST

After reclassifying Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern,’ Trump threatened to go ‘guns-a-blazing’ to stop the killing of Christians, a claim Nigeria strongly rejects

US President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has for years battled violent insurgencies and communal clashes that have left tens of thousands dead and displaced millions. Islamist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) operate mainly in the north, while conflicts between herders and farmers frequently erupt in the central regions. The violence has affected both Christians and Muslims, yet it is often portrayed abroad as a religious war.

That framing reached Washington this week, when US President Donald Trump threatened to send American troops “guns-a-blazing" into Nigeria to stop what he called the “killing of Christians." He also ordered the Pentagon to prepare for “possible action" and warned that the US would halt all aid to Nigeria if its government failed to act.

Nigeria has rejected those claims. Daniel Bwala, an adviser to President Bola Tinubu, said the country would welcome US help against militants “as long as it recognises our territorial integrity," while the foreign ministry spokesperson denied that any “Christian genocide" was taking place. The statement, Bwala said, “should not be seen as a threat but an opportunity for both countries to deepen cooperation against terrorism."

Trump’s Fiery Threat

On Truth Social, Trump warned: “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. 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." He added that he was “instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action."

Trump followed up his online posts with remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One, saying he had directed the Department of War to prepare for options. Asked whether this meant ground troops or air strikes, he replied: “Could be. I mean, other things. I envisage a lot of things. They’re killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria… They are killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We are not going to allow that to happen."

He framed any potential operation as rapid and punishing. “If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!" he wrote on Truth Social.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly responded “Yes sir" and added: “Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities."

Why Nigeria Is Back On Washington’s Religious-Freedom Watchlist

Just before issuing his threat, Trump announced that the US was designating Nigeria a “country of particular concern", a status he had first applied in his earlier term but which the Biden administration later lifted.

Trump’s decision effectively reverses a three-year thaw in ties between Washington and Abuja. Nigeria was first placed on the watchlist in 2020 after the US cited “systematic violations" of religious freedom, but the Biden administration lifted it in 2023, partly to reset relations ahead of then–Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Nigeria.

Under the US International Religious Freedom Act, the designation is meant for governments that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom." It can open the door to sanctions or restrictions on aid. The list currently includes nations such as Myanmar, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

The move could carry financial consequences. The US approved $32.5 million in September to tackle hunger in Nigeria, and in August 2024, the US mission in Abuja said the country “would receive $27 million as part of a larger $536 million humanitarian aid package from the US Government to Sub-Saharan Africa." These funds were part of ongoing American assistance programmes that could now come under review.

Nigeria Pushes Back: ‘There Is No Christian Genocide’

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rejected Trump’s claims that Nigeria is failing to protect Christians, saying it “does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians."

Officials have been categorical that the violence is not one-sided. “No, it is not true. There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria," said the foreign ministry’s spokesperson.

At the same time, Nigerian Christian leaders continue to demand protection. Last month, President Archbishop Daniel Okoh of the Christian Association of Nigeria responded to increased attention on his community to say that “many Christian communities in parts of Nigeria, especially in the North, have suffered severe attacks, loss of life, and the destruction of places of worship… The pain of Christian families torn apart by violence must never be treated as mere statistics."

Joseph Hayab, a former chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna, however, dismissed talk of “Christian genocide." While acknowledging that there have been many Christians killed over the years, he told AP, “Things have been better than what they were before."

What Drives The Violence Inside Nigeria

Nigeria’s security crisis is the result of several overlapping conflicts — insurgencies, resource battles, and communal tensions — that have evolved over decades rather than from a single religious fault line.

In the northeast, extremist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have waged an insurgency since the early 2000s. Boko Haram, founded in 2002, seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate and to purge what it calls Western influence from Nigerian society. The group’s name roughly translates to “Western education is forbidden," reflecting its hostility to modern schooling and its targeting of institutions seen as symbols of Westernisation.

Boko Haram drew international attention in 2014 after abducting 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State, sparking the Bring Back Our Girls campaign. More than a decade later, dozens of those girls remain missing.

ISWAP emerged from a split within Boko Haram and operates mainly in the Lake Chad basin, attacking security forces, aid workers, and civilians it deems un-Islamic. These insurgencies are concentrated in the Muslim-majority north but have displaced millions and destabilised entire provinces.

Further south, in central and northwestern Nigeria, communal clashes pit predominantly Christian farming communities against largely Muslim Fulani herders in disputes over land, water, and grazing routes. The conflicts have intensified with desertification and population growth.

Beyond insurgency and communal fighting, Nigeria also faces criminal banditry, kidnappings for ransom, and separatist movements in parts of the south. Analysts quoted by The Independent note that these layers of insecurity overlap, making it impossible to speak of religious violence as motivating all the violence.

Why The ‘Genocide’ Narrative Is Widely Disputed

Data collected by the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data program showed 20,409 deaths from 11,862 attacks against civilians in Nigeria between January 2020 and this September.

Of those, 385 attacks were “targeted events against Christians (…) where Christian identity of the victim was a reported factor," resulting in 317 deaths, ACLED said.

In the same period, there were 417 deaths recorded among Muslims in 196 attacks.

Despite the statistics, several US politicians, notably Senator Ted Cruz, have alleged a “mass killing of Christians" and called for Nigeria’s reclassification. Cruz’s claims have been challenged by Nigerian authorities. Information Minister Idris Muhammed told AP: “There is no systematic, intentional attempt either by the Nigerian government or by any serious group to target a particular religion."

What Options Does Washington Have?

While Trump has threatened to act militarily, the feasibility of such an operation remains uncertain. The US withdrew from its base in neighbouring Niger in 2024, which had been key to monitoring jihadist movements across West Africa. Any intervention in Nigeria would require locating dispersed militant cells in vast, remote areas — a formidable task.

Beyond direct strikes, Washington could also reduce aid or impose sanctions under the “country of particular concern" designation. But for now, both sides appear to be signalling that cooperation, not confrontation, is the preferred path, if sovereignty is respected.

Karishma Jain

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar...Read More

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar...

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