By: Manoah Kikekon
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| President Donald Trump and Terrorists used to illustrate the story |
U.S. President Donald Trump has declared he has ordered the military to prepare for a potential offensive invasion of Nigeria, issuing a stark warning to the Nigerian government to immediately halt what he termed the "genocide" of Christians in the West African nation.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump escalated his rhetoric significantly, stating he is instructing the "Department of War" to prepare for possible action. "If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians!" he wrote, adding a direct warning: "The Nigerian government better move fast!"
The former president's threats also included a pledge to cut all U.S. aid to Nigeria. He called on Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to take proactive measures to tackle the situation immediately. Trump warned that failure to do so would risk the United States conducting military action to, in his words, “wipe out Islamic terrorists.”
“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria and 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,” the American leader added in his social media statement.
Donald Trump's latest threat came just one day after the White House, under the current Biden administration, officially designated Nigeria as a "Country of Particular Concern." This designation follows weeks of intense pressure from notable American politicians and religious freedom advocates calling for stronger action from the U.S. government regarding the killings of Christians in Nigeria.
The situation highlights the ongoing security challenges in Nigeria, where conflicts involving militant Islamist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), as well as escalating communal violence in the country's Middle Belt, have led to significant casualties and widespread displacement among both Christian and Muslim communities.
The Nigerian government has not yet issued an official response to Trump's statements. As a former president, Trump's directives do not carry the force of official U.S. policy, but they signal a potentially aggressive foreign policy stance toward Nigeria should he return to power.