United States President Donald Trump placed Nigeria on a watchlist after watching a Fox News segment on how Christians were being persecuted in the West African country, CNN reports.”
United States President Donald Trump placed Nigeria on a watchlist after watching a Fox News segment that focused on the alleged persecution of Christians in the West African nation, according to TheCable reporting, which cited a CNN report.
On Friday, Trump officially redesignated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” following allegations of targeted Christian killings in the country. The move, according to CNN, was triggered while the president was on ‘Air Force One’ en route to Florida.
In a Truth Social post, President Trump declared, “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed,” and blamed radical Islamists for the “mass slaughter.” He then declared: “I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’.”
Following the broadcast, Trump reportedly fixated on the issue over the weekend and asked his secretary of defence to “prepare for possible action.” The President also warned that US troops will enter Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” to protect the Christian population.
Personnel within the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) were reportedly abruptly recalled to headquarters in Germany following the social media post.
CNN quoted a White House official as saying the president has “been tracking this issue previously and had already begun thinking about Truthing it out.” The Nigerian federal government has consistently rejected US claims of “Christian genocide” in the country.
READ MORE AT THE CABLE