By Franklin Adole
President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could carry out further military strikes in Nigeria if killings of Christians continue.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times, on Thursday, while responding to questions about a US military strike carried out on Christmas Day in northwest Nigeria. The US military said the operation targeted Islamic State militants and was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.
At the time, Nigerian authorities described the action as a joint counter-terrorism operation, stressing that it was directed at terrorists and had nothing to do with religion.
“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump was quoted as saying. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”
In the interview, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims of violence but insisted that Christians were the primary targets.
“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria,” he said. “But it’s mostly Christians.”
Trump has repeatedly raised alarm over religious violence in Nigeria. In late October, he warned that Christianity faced what he described as an “existential threat” in the West African country and suggested the United States could intervene militarily if Nigerian authorities failed to stop attacks on Christian communities.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with more than 230 million people, is almost evenly divided between Christians, who largely reside in the south, and Muslims, who predominate in the north. The country has long battled security challenges, including Islamist insurgencies, banditry, kidnappings and communal violence, particularly in northern regions.
However, the Nigerian government has consistently rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians, arguing that extremist violence cuts across religious lines. Officials note that insurgent groups have killed both Muslims and Christians and caution against framing the conflict in purely religious terms.
In response to Trump’s earlier threats, Nigeria said it would continue to cooperate with Washington in the fight against terrorism but pushed back against language suggesting that Christians were uniquely under threat.
Trump’s latest comments nevertheless signal a hardening stance and raise the prospect of expanded US military action in Nigeria if Washington concludes that religiously motivated killings persist.