United States President Donald Trump has renewed claims that Christians in Nigeria are being subjected to mass killings, describing the situation as an “existential threat” to Christianity in the country.
In a video shared by the White House on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Trump alleged that “thousands and thousands” of Christians were being killed by what he called “radical Islamists.”
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands and thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump said.
The former president announced that he was officially designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” — a classification under US law used for nations accused of severe violations of religious freedom.
“I am hereby making Nigeria a country of particular concern. That’s a legal definition,” he stated. “When Christians or any such group are slaughtered like in Nigeria — 3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide — something has to be done.”
Trump urged immediate congressional action, calling on Congressman Riley Moore and Chairman Tom Cole of the House Appropriations Committee to investigate and report on the matter “immediately.”
“What horrible numbers. Something has to be done. The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and other countries,” Trump added.
He vowed that the US government “will not allow the killing of Christians” to continue, emphasizing America’s readiness “to save our great Christian population around the world.”
The former president had earlier threatened to deploy the US Department of War to Nigeria if what he described as “Christian genocide” was not halted.
His comments, which were first posted on Truth Social, were later shared by the White House’s official X account.
The “country of particular concern” designation is an official classification under United States law, typically applied by the Secretary of State to countries involved in activities the US deems harmful to human rights and religious freedom.
A 2022 report by the Family Research Council explains that the designation signals that the US views the country as engaging in practices that threaten universal freedoms or US national interests.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria has dismissed such claims, insisting that Nigeria remains a democracy that guarantees freedom of religion.
In a statement issued on November 1, President Bola Tinubu said Nigeria “stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.”
He added that since 2023, his administration had worked closely with both Christian and Muslim leaders to address security challenges affecting citizens “across faiths and regions.”
“The portrayal of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality. Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” the statement read.
Comments