Protests erupted in northern Nigeria after President Trump threatened military action over alleged Christian persecution, a claim the Nigerian government denies.
People in Kano, northern Nigeria, took to the streets on Saturday to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to attack Nigeria over alleged “Christian genocide,” according to TRT World.
Muslim groups in Kano condemned Trump’s remarks and carried placards reading, “We condemn Trump’s threat to attack Nigeria,” and “America wants to control our resources.”
On November 1, Trump announced that he had ordered the Pentagon to prepare military options to “protect Christian communities” in Nigeria, warning that if killings continued, Washington could “go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing.”
Nigeria’s government has denied claims of Christian persecution, maintaining that religious tolerance remains a “core tenet” of national identity.
According to TRT World, U.S.-based Moran Global Strategies has been lobbying Congress on claims of Christian persecution, while analysts say Washington’s rhetoric may be linked to Abuja’s refusal to accept deportees from the U.S.
Nigeria continues to battle insurgency in the northeast and criminal gangs in the northwest, where most victims are Muslims.