We stand ready, willing to defend Christians in Nigeria – Trump declares

United States President Donald Trump has once again alleged that Christians in Nigeria are victims of widespread killings, describing the situation as an existential threat to Christianity in the country.

In a video posted on the White House’s official X handle on Wednesday, Trump claimed that “thousands and thousands” of Christians were being killed, blaming “radical Islamists” for what he termed a “mass slaughter.”

He said, “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands and thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”

The former president announced that he was designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” a classification he said was based on legal provisions in US law.

“I am hereby making Nigeria a country of particular concern. That’s a legal definition. When the Christians or any such group is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria, 3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide,” Trump said in the video.

Calling for swift legislative intervention, he described the figures as “horrible numbers” and urged immediate action from Congress.

“What horrible numbers. Something has to be done. I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter and to report back to me. And I mean like immediately,” he added.

Trump maintained that Washington would not remain passive in the face of what he described as atrocities against Christians.

“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world. This is not going to happen. The killing of Christians is not going to happen,” he stated.

Trump had earlier threatened to deploy the US Department of War to Nigeria if the alleged killings of Christians were not stopped.

The “country of particular concern” classification is a formal designation under US law, typically issued by the Secretary of State when a nation is deemed to be involved in serious violations of religious freedom or human rights. According to the Family Research Council, such a label signals that a country is engaging in practices viewed by the United States as contrary to universal freedoms or US national interests.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has repeatedly rejected claims of religious persecution, insisting that the country remains a constitutional democracy that safeguards freedom of worship.

In a statement released on November 1, President Bola Tinubu reaffirmed that Nigeria “stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.” He noted that since 2023, his administration has worked with both Christian and Muslim leaders to address security challenges affecting citizens “across faiths and regions.”

Tinubu added that portraying Nigeria as religiously intolerant “does not reflect our national reality,” stressing that religious freedom and tolerance remain “a core tenet of our collective identity.”