US footprint in West Africa shrinks significantly as 1,000 troops withdraw from Niger last year
Security personnel patrol the streets amid an increase in violence in Mangu, Plateau state, Nigeria, January 24, 2024, in this scenario taken from video Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had asked the Defense Department to prepare for possible “swift” military action in Nigeria if the West African nation fails to crack down on the killing of Christians.
The US government will also immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and top oil producer, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
If the United States sends in military forces, it will proceed with “weapons” to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who commit these horrific atrocities,” Trump wrote, without providing any evidence of the treatment of Christians in Nigeria.
Trump called Nigeria a “disgraceful country” and warned that its government must act quickly. “If we attack, it will be swift, vicious, and sweet, just as terrorist thugs attack our BELOVED Christians!” he wrote
Abuja had no immediate reaction to Trump’s threat of military action. The White House also had no immediate comment on the potential timing of any US military action.
Although the US Defense Department referred Reuters to the White House for comment on Trump’s threat, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released a social media post of his own.
“The War Department is preparing for action,” Hegseth wrote in X. “Either the Nigerian government protects the Christians or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Trump’s post about Nigeria came a day after his administration added Nigeria back to the list of “Countries of Special Concern” nations that the US says have violated religious freedom. Other nations on the list include China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.
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Before Trump issued the attack threat, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier on Saturday pushed back against claims of religious intolerance and defended his country’s efforts to protect religious freedom.
“Describing Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into account the government’s consistent and sincere efforts to safeguard freedom of religion and belief for all Nigerians,” Tinubu said in a statement, citing “constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”
Nigeria’s foreign ministry, in a separate statement, pledged to continue fighting violent extremism and said it hoped Washington would remain a close ally, saying it “will continue to defend all citizens, regardless of race, religion or creed. Like America, Nigeria has no choice but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength.”
The US military footprint in West Africa was significantly reduced when about 1,000 troops withdrew from Niger last year. While the US sometimes has small contingents of troops in the region to take part in exercises, the largest US military base on the continent is in East Africa in Djibouti, which houses over 5,000 troops and is used for operations in the region.
Trump put Nigeria on his “concern list” during his first term
Trump had designated Nigeria a country of concern during his first term in the White House. His Democratic successor, Joe Biden, removed it from the State Department list in 2021.
On Friday, Trump said “thousands of Christians” had been killed in Nigeria by radical Islamists, but did not elaborate.
Nigeria, which has 200 ethnic groups practicing Christianity, Islam and traditional religions, has a long history of peaceful coexistence but has also seen outbreaks of intergroup violence, often exacerbated by ethnic divisions or conflicts over limited resources.
The extremist Islamist militant group Boko Haram has also terrorized northeastern Nigeria, an insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people over the past 15 years. Human rights experts said most of Boko Haram’s victims were Muslims.
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US lawmakers such as Representative Tom Cole, a Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, hailed Trump’s move on Friday, citing what they called “the disturbing and ongoing persecution of Christians across the country.”
The committee’s national security appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026 included increased funding for international religious freedom programs and support for programs that support communities in Nigeria targeted by extremist violence.
Trump’s re-designation of Nigeria as a country of concern opens the door to a range of political responses, such as sanctions or resignations, but they are not automatic.
Some religious groups pressed Trump for the redefinition in a letter last month, according to a transcript on the website of the Hudson Institute think tank.
“Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote without elaborating. He also called on the US House Appropriations Committee to investigate.
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