US War Secretary Pete Hegseth says his department is preparing for possible military action in Nigeria following President Donald Trump’s threat over alleged killings of Christians.
The United States secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, has said his department is preparing for possible military action in Nigeria if the government fails to stop the killing of Christians in the country.
Hegseth made the comment on Saturday while responding to a Truth Social post by US President Donald Trump, who accused the Nigerian government of ignoring attacks on Christians.
“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing’, to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump wrote.
Reacting on X, Hegseth said, “Yes sir. The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action.”
Trump had on Friday redesignated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over what he described as a “mass slaughter” of Christians by radical Islamists.
President Bola Tinubu has rejected Trump’s claims, insisting Nigeria remains a democracy that upholds freedom of religion and belief.