President Donald Trump said he has instructed the Pentagon to prepare for possible action in Nigeria, saying the United States could act “with guns” and stop aid if the government there “continues to allow the murder of Christians.”
“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the United States will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go to that now-disgraced country, ‘shotgun,’ to completely eliminate the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrific atrocities,” the president said in a post on his social media platform. “I hereby instruct our War Department to prepare for possible action.”
He added: “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after taking off from Busan, South Korea, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, Oct. 30, 2025.
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On Friday, Trump said he was designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” a legal designation by the US State Department for countries “responsible for particularly serious violations of religious freedom,” and Trump said that “Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria.”
Trump said he asked Rep. Riley Moore, RW.V. and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and the House Appropriations Committee, for a report on the matter.
Nigeria’s population of more than 230 million is roughly evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. Violence in the country has increased amid almost daily attacks by armed groups and bandits in northern Nigeria. Amnesty International reported earlier this year, calling the rising death toll a “humanitarian crisis.”
However, patterns of violence are often complex. Christians have been targeted, as have other religious groups. People have also been subjected to violence because of their ethnic group and their way of making a living.
After Trump’s first message, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu responded: “The characterization of 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 the freedom of religion and belief of all Nigerians.”
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu speaks during an official visit to Brazil at the Planalto Palace on August 25, 2025 in Brasilia, Brazil.
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Tinubu said his administration has taken steps to maintain “open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges affecting citizens of all faiths and regions.” And he said he was committed to working with the United States and the international community to “deepen understanding and cooperation in protecting communities of all faiths.”
Nigeria has seen a resurgence of the local Islamic militant group Boko Haram this year, according to the associated press.
An attack in northern Nigeria in September killed dozens of people, the AP reported.
ABC News’ Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.
