On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he has directed the Pentagon to start preparing for potential military intervention in Nigeria, citing concerns over the nation’s alleged failure to halt the persecution of Christians.

Additionally, Trump issued a stern warning that the U.S. would “immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria.”

“Should the Nigerian government continue to permit the killing of Christians,” Trump stated on social media, “the U.S.A. will halt all support to Nigeria and potentially intervene with force to eradicate the Islamic terrorists responsible for these heinous acts.”

Trump further declared, “I am instructing our Department of Defense to get ready for possible action. If we engage, it will be swift, decisive, and as intense as the attacks on our cherished Christians carried out by these terrorist thugs!”

This ultimatum followed a response from Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who earlier that day had criticized Trump for designating Nigeria as “a country of particular concern” due to the alleged persecution of Christians.

In a social media statement on Saturday, Tinubu said that the characterisation of Nigeria as a religiously intolerant country does not reflect the national reality.

“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” Tinubu said.

“Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”

Trump on Friday said “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria” and “radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”

Trump’s comment came weeks after US Senator Ted Cruz urged Congress to designate Africa’s most populous country as a violator of religious freedom with claims of “Christian mass murder.”

Nigeria’s population of 220 million is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims.

The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.

Attacks in Nigeria have varying motives; there are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.

While Christians are among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, where most attacks occur.

Kimiebi Ebienfa, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated the commitment of Nigeria to protect citizens of all religions.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria will continue to defend all citizens, irrespective of race, creed, or religion,” Ebienfa said in a statement on Saturday.

“Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength.”

Nigeria was placed on the country of particular concern list by the U.S. for the first time in 2020 over what the State Department called “systematic violations of religious freedom.”

The designation, which did not single out attacks on Christians, was lifted in 2023 in what observers saw as a way to improve ties between the countries ahead of then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit.