Trump made the comments Sunday night while returning to Washington after vacationing in Florida
A drone view of Christians leaving St Peter and Paul Catholic Church after a Sunday service in Palmgrove, Lagos, Nigeria, November 2, 2025 Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US military could deploy troops to Nigeria or carry out airstrikes to stop what he called the killing of large numbers of Christians in the West African country.
Asked if he envisioned troops on the ground or airstrikes in Nigeria, Trump told reporters on Air Force One: “Maybe. I mean, other things. I envision a lot of things. They’re killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria … They’re killing Christians and they’re killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to let that happen.”
Trump made the comments Sunday night as he returned to Washington after a weekend at his Florida vacation home.
A newspaper with an article citing US President Donald Trump’s message to Nigeria regarding the treatment of Christians hangs on a newsstand in Ojuelegba, Lagos, Nigeria. November 2, 2025 Photo: Reuters
Trump threatened on Saturday to take military action against Nigeria if Africa’s most populous country fails to crack down on the killing of Christians.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesman, Daniel Bwala, told AFP on Sunday that “Nigeria is the US’s partner in the global fight against terrorism. When leaders meet, there will be better results.”
Reading: Nigeria urges Trump meeting after threat of military action
“Nigeria welcomes US support in the fight against terrorism as long as it respects our territorial integrity,” he said.
“We don’t take (Trump’s social media post) in a literal sense,” he said.
“We know that Donald Trump has his own communication style,” he said, suggesting the post was a way to “force a meeting between the two leaders so they can build a common front to combat their insecurity.”
Earlier, Bwala had suggested in a post on X that the two leaders could meet soon.
“Regarding the differences as to whether the terrorists in Nigeria target only Christians or in fact all faiths and no faith, the differences if any, will be discussed and resolved by the two leaders when they meet in the coming days, either at State House or at the White House.”
Read more: Trump threatens US military action in Nigeria over treatment of Christians
Bwala, speaking by phone from Washington, declined to divulge details of any potential meeting.
The US president’s threat of military action came a day after his administration added Nigeria back to a “Countries of Special Concern” list of nations the US says have violated religious freedoms. Other nations on the list include China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.
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