United States President Donald Trump has warned that Washington could carry out additional military strikes in Nigeria if the killing of Christians persists, a statement that has reignited debate over religious violence and foreign military intervention in Africa’s most populous country.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, while responding to questions about a US military operation carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day. At the time, the US military said the strike targeted Islamic State militants operating in north-west Nigeria and was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.
Nigerian authorities, however, described the action as a joint counterterrorism operation, stressing that it was directed at armed groups designated as terrorists and “had nothing to do with a particular religion”.
“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump was quoted as saying. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”
When pressed on comments by his own Africa adviser that extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram had killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims but insisted that Christians were being targeted disproportionately.
“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of Christians in Nigeria, beginning in late October when he warned that Christianity faced what he described as an “existential threat” in the country. He has accused Nigerian authorities of failing to adequately protect Christian communities and has openly threatened US military intervention if the violence continues.
The Nigerian government has firmly rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians, maintaining that the country’s security challenges are complex and largely driven by insurgency, banditry and criminal violence rather than religious targeting.
With a population of over 230 million, Nigeria is almost evenly split between Christians, who are predominantly in the south, and Muslims, who are mainly in the north. Islamist insurgencies, particularly Boko Haram and its offshoots, have plagued parts of northern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands and displacing millions.
Nigerian authorities have repeatedly emphasised that militant attacks have claimed the lives of both Muslims and Christians, warning that framing the violence purely along religious lines oversimplifies the crisis and risks inflaming tensions.
Following Trump’s earlier threats, the Nigerian government said it remained open to continued cooperation with the United States in combating terrorism but rejected narratives suggesting that Christians alone were under threat.
The latest comments are expected to further strain diplomatic relations, as Nigeria seeks to balance its security partnership with Washington against concerns over sovereignty, counterterrorism cooperation and the global portrayal of its internal conflicts.
