United States Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said the Department of War is preparing for action in Nigeria following reports of attacks on Christians in the country.
Hegseth stated this on Saturday in a post on X, in response to President Donald Trump’s earlier comments threatening military intervention over alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
“Yes sir. The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” he wrote.
Trump had earlier threatened to carry out attacks in Nigeria in response to purported anti-Christian violence, saying he instructed the recently renamed Department of War to “prepare for possible action”.
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said the United States would immediately cut off all assistance to the African country “if the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians”.
The US “may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities”, Trump added, without specifying which groups or alleged “atrocities” he was referring to.
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!” he wrote.
The Nigerian government did not immediately respond to Trump’s threat.
On Friday, the US President announced that Nigeria would be added to the Department of State’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern”, which is set up to monitor religious persecution around the world.
He blamed radical Islamists for the “mass slaughter” of Christians in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu rejected Trump’s labelling of Nigeria, saying the West African nation remains a democracy anchored on constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and belief.