Nigeria has responded to Donald Trump’s threat of military action by suggesting it would welcome help tackling Islamist insurgents, but insists America must respect its sovereignty.
Posting on Truth Social, the US president claimed radical Islamists are committing “mass slaughter” and Christianity is “facing an existential threat” in the West African nation.
On Saturday, he asked officials to prepare for possible “fast” military action in Nigeria if the country fails to crack down on the killing of “thousands of Christians”. It prompted a blunt response from Nigeria on Sunday.
“We welcome US assistance as long as it recognises our territorial integrity,” Daniel Bwala, an adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, told Reuters.
But Mr Bwala also sought to play down tensions between the two nations, despite Mr Trump calling Nigeria a “disgraced country”.
On Saturday, President Tinubu also pushed back against the claims of religious intolerance and defended his country’s
efforts to protect religious freedom.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant 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,” Tinubu said in a statement.
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Mr Trump quoted figures suggesting 3,100 Christians had been killed in Nigeria, but did not state any source for the numbers or timeframe.
He stated: “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”
Nigeria now joins North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and China on a list of countries “of particular concern” due to violations of religious freedom.
Analysts have said that, while Christians are among those targeted, the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in the country’s Muslim-majority north, where the most attacks take place.
Mr Trump’s move follows efforts by Republican senator Ted Cruz to get fellow evangelical Christians to lobby Congress over claims of “Christian mass murder” in Nigeria.
Boko Haram – which kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls in 2014 – is the main group cited in previous warnings by US and international governments.
The group has committed “egregious violations of religious freedom”, according to a 2021 report by the bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
It said more than 37,000 people had been killed by Islamist groups in Nigeria since 2011.
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Churches and Christian neighbourhoods have been targeted in the past, but experts say Muslims are the most common victims of Boko Haram attacks, which routinely target the police, military and government.
Other groups said to be operating in the country include Boko Haram offshoot Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP).
About half of Nigeria’s population is estimated to be Muslim, who mostly live in the north, with roughly the other half following Christianity.
US travellers are currently urged to “reconsider” travel to Nigeria due to a threat of terrorism, crime, kidnapping and armed gangs. The UK advises its citizens along similar lines.
