Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday intensified his criticism of Nigeria’s handling of attacks on Christians, accusing the government of failing to protect vulnerable communities and, again, describing the violence as “genocide.”
“I think Nigeria is a disgrace. The whole thing is a disgrace,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News Radio’s The Brian Kilmeade Show, according to the New York Times. “They’re killing people by the thousands. It’s a genocide. And I’m really angry about it.”
His comments come weeks after he threatened military and economic action against Nigeria following pressure from U.S. lawmakers and religious groups calling attention to persistent killings of Christians.
“And we pay. you know, we give a lot of subsidy to Nigeria which we’re going to end up stopping,” he said. “The government’s doing nothing. They are very ineffective. They are killing Christians at will. And you know until I got involved in it two weeks ago – nobody even talked about it.”
Nigeria has witnessed a surge in terror attacks in the past week. A military convoy was ambushed in Borno, leaving soldiers dead and their commander, a brigadier general, kidnapped and later killed. Armed men also abducted 25 female students from a secondary school in Kebbi State. The following day, gunmen attacked Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Ekiti local government area of Kwara State, killing three worshippers and abducting 38 others, including the pastor.
On Thursday, over 300 people were seized during another school attack at a Catholic boarding school in Niger State.
Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, met U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on Thursday.
In a post on X after the meeting, Mr. Hegseth wrote: “Yesterday, I met with Nigeria’s National Security Advisor and his team to discuss the horrific violence against Christians in their country. Under @POTUS leadership, DOW is working aggressively with Nigeria to end the persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists.” (DOW refers to the Department of War.)
Although the Nigerian government disputes claims of Christian genocide, thousands of people have been killed in the past decade by Islamist militants and armed Fulani herders across predominantly Christian areas of Benue, Borno, Plateau, and Kaduna. Muslim communities have also suffered deadly attacks by the so-called bandits in Zamfara, Sokoto, and Katsina states.
Economic Sanctions
A senior U.S. official said Thursday that Washington is developing a response that may include sanctions to pressure Nigeria to better protect Christian communities. Speaking during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Jonathan Pratt, the State Department’s senior official for African affairs, said Nigeria has “not done enough” to address targeted violence against Christians in the central region.
The issue contributed to the Trump administration redesignating Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) in October.
Mr. Pratt noted that Abuja has since shown a “willingness to cooperate,” with Mr. Ribadu leading a delegation that met this week with U.S. Congressman Riley Moore — a vocal advocate of claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria.
But he added that Washington is still working on a plan that may include sanctions “as well as possible Department of War engagement on counter-terrorism and other efforts to protect religious communities.”
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