Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), cautioned that Trump’s threat could trigger a diplomatic crisis and push Nigeria closer to China and Russia.
According to VANGUARD reporting, outrage has trailed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to attack Nigeria over alleged genocidal killings of Christians, a move that has drawn condemnation from religious, political, and civil society leaders across the country.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) said God used Trump to “blow the trumpet” on the killings in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, and Southern Kaduna, urging the Nigerian government to “put an end to this genocide.” However, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) urged calm, saying U.S. strikes would only make sense if directed at terrorist groups like Boko Haram, ISIS, and ISWAP. “But such strikes will be considered aggression if innocent Muslims or mosques are targeted,” it warned.
Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), cautioned that Trump’s threat could trigger a diplomatic crisis and push Nigeria closer to China and Russia. “Public ultimatums weaken, not strengthen, American influence,” he said, urging Nigeria to counter what he called “false genocide claims.”
Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi described Trump’s allegations as “unfounded and premature,” while former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso insisted insecurity in Nigeria “does not distinguish religious or ethnic beliefs.”
Civil groups, including CISLAC and Yiaga Africa, blamed the government’s failure to address widespread killings and diplomatic inertia for the escalating tension.
Meanwhile, presidential aides Bayo Onanuga and Daniel Bwala said President Bola Tinubu would meet Trump soon to clarify the situation, even as U.S. envoy Mike Waltz invited rapper Nicki Minaj to discuss “the protection of persecuted Christians in Nigeria.”