U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of Nigeria over the weekend, declaring that he has ordered the Defense Department to prepare for potential military action if the government in Abuja does not stop what he described as the killing of Christians. Trump also announced that all U.S. aid to Nigeria will be halted immediately until the Nigerian government proves it is protecting Christian communities.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States could move in “fast” and “guns-a-blazing” to “wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.” He warned that if Nigeria does not act, the U.S. military would. “If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians,” he wrote. Trump called Nigeria a “disgraced country.”
There was no immediate response from Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s office to Trump’s statements. Tinubu had already rejected the accusations earlier in the day, saying that claims of religious intolerance “do not reflect our national reality.” Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry insisted it protects all communities “irrespective of race, creed, or religion” and objected to being placed by Washington on the U.S. list of “Countries of Particular Concern” for religious freedom violations.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly backed the president’s directive. “The Department of War is preparing for action,” he wrote. “Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Washington removed Nigeria from the religious freedom watch list in 2021, during the Biden administration. The Trump administration restored the designation on Friday, citing what Trump called “an existential threat” to Nigeria’s Christian population. U.S. lawmakers, including Rep. Tom Cole, applauded the move, pointing to repeated attacks on Christian villages and clergy.
Trump’s remarks come after years of reports from northern and central Nigeria describing attacks on churches and Christian farming communities. Nigerian officials argue that violence in these regions is driven by local disputes and criminal militias rather than religious persecution, and that both Christians and Muslims are victims. Critics say this claim masks a long-term campaign of Islamist violence, particularly by groups linked to Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province.
The Bible states plainly: “Do not stand by the blood of your neighbor” (Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa). (Leviticus 19:16)
The Sages understood this as a commandment to intervene when life is in danger. Silence in the face of murder is seen as participation in the crime. The verse is not abstract. It is a legal obligation. One who can stop bloodshed and does not act is held accountable.
For many American Evangelicals who form a core part of Trump’s political base, the plight of Christians in Africa is not distant. It is personal and religious. Churches in the United States have tracked the killings in Nigeria for years. Some missionary groups have documented names, villages, and pastors who were kidnapped or murdered. The issue is not theoretical for them; they see it as a test of whether Christian lives are valued on the world stage.
