TENSION has escalated between Nigeria and the United States after President Donald Trump doubled down on his threat to launch a military operation in Nigeria over alleged widespread killings of Christians.
News Point Nigeria reports that speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, Trump said he was considering all military options, including boots on the ground and air strikes as part of a possible US intervention in Nigeria.
“Could be. I mean, a lot of things, I envisage a lot of things,” Trump responded when specifically asked if US troops could be deployed in Nigeria.
In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly accused the federal government of failing to protect Christians, claiming they were being killed “in very large numbers.”
“They’re killing the Christians, and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen,” he said.
On Saturday, the US president declared via his Truth Social account that he had directed the Pentagon to draw up a battle plan, warning that if the Nigerian government does not halt the alleged violence, the US would strike swiftly.
“It will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians,” Trump wrote.
President Bola Tinubu swiftly responded, rejecting Trump’s claims and insisting that Nigeria does not discriminate against any religious group.
In a statement posted Saturday on social media, Tinubu emphasized: “Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty… The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality.”
Tinubu stated that both his administration and security forces remain committed to protecting all citizens, Christians and Muslims alike.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has denied reports claiming Tinubu was scheduled to travel to the US for a meeting with Vice President J.D. Vance.
Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, described the report as false and mischievous.
“If President Tinubu is going to the White House, he won’t be going to see a Vice President,” Ajayi posted on X.
The rebuttal follows rising speculation of urgent diplomacy between US and Nigeria amid the escalating dispute.
In a related development, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has called for renewed diplomatic engagement between Nigeria and the US amid the rising tensions.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed sent to News Point Nigeria, Adeleke urged peaceful dialogue.
The governor appealed for constructive diplomacy rooted in the long-standing partnership between the two nations.
“I appeal to the Presidency of the United States to support Nigeria in fully implementing its new national security strategy,” he said.
According to him, the new security framework is comprehensive and capable of tackling banditry and terrorist killings across the country.
On his part, Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, said the security challenges in Nigeria go beyond a conflict between Muslims and Christians.
Speaking during a media chat on Monday, the governor stated that Trump’s threat of military intervention to “protect Christians in Nigeria” distorts the actual issues on the ground.
He emphasized the need for the Nigerian government to engage in a more substantive dialogue to address the concerns raised, noting that all relevant facts should be accurately presented.
Soludo added that if Nigeria were to seek foreign assistance, it should be through formal requests for military support, technology, or equipment, not through external threats.
He rejected any notion of an invasion, arguing that it would be equally absurd for African nations to threaten to invade the United States over incidents of racial violence.
“I am not quite sure if you have policemen killing some blacks. I remember the #BlackLivesMatter protest, and somebody would say maybe Africa should go and invade America because blacks are being killed? I’m not quite sure,” he said.