A day after suggesting Nigeria could face sanctions for allegedly failing to rein in the persecution of Christians in the West African country, President Trump returned to social media to up his threat. He posted Saturday that the US "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," per the AP, adding, "I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action." Trump had announced Friday that he would designate Nigeria "a country of particular concern" as it relates to religious freedom, a move that had been pushed by some US lawmakers.
The Nigerian government vehemently rejects Trump's claims, the AP reports, and analysts say that while Christians are among those targeted, the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria's Muslim-majority north, where most attacks occur. Trump elevated his warning after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier on Saturday pushed back against designation. "Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so," Tinubu posted, saying the protections are guaranteed by Nigeria's constitution.
Designating a "country of particular concern" under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act is an executive prerogative that normally follows recommendations from both the congressionally mandated US Commission on International Religious Freedom and the State Department. Nigeria was first placed on the "country of particular concern" list by the US in 2020 in what the State Department called "systematic violations of religious freedom." However, the designation didn't single out attacks on Christians. The State Department usually releases its annual "Report on International Religious Freedom" in the spring, but it hasn't yet done so this year.
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