WASHINGTON – In a significant move, President Donald Trump’s administration is ramping up efforts to collaborate with Nigeria in addressing violence against Christians. This initiative is part of a wider strategy following Trump’s call to prepare for possible military interventions and his bold assertion that the U.S. might intervene “guns-a-blazing” against Islamic militants.

A representative from the State Department recently emphasized that the strategy extends beyond military might. This comprehensive approach encompasses diplomatic efforts, potential sanctions, aid programs, and intelligence collaboration with Nigeria’s government. These measures aim to create a multi-faceted response to the ongoing crisis.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been proactive in these diplomatic efforts, meeting with Nigeria’s national security adviser to explore solutions to curb the violence. The meeting was marked by a positive exchange, evidenced by a social media post featuring the two officials in a friendly handshake. This cooperative gesture stands in stark contrast to Trump’s earlier threats to withdraw U.S. assistance if Nigeria failed to address the violence against Christians.

These initiatives align with Trump’s promise to steer clear of deeper entanglements in foreign conflicts. This comes at a time when the U.S. has scaled back its military presence in Africa, reducing or ending many partnerships. Should military intervention be deemed necessary, it would require redeployment of forces from other global regions.

Despite these diplomatic overtures, President Trump maintains a firm stance, continuing to exert pressure on Nigeria. The country has been plagued by a series of violent attacks on schools and churches, affecting both Christian and Muslim communities, according to experts and local residents.

“I’m really angry about it,” the president said Friday when asked about the new violence on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox News Radio. He alleged that Nigeria’s government has “done nothing” and said “what’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace.”

The Nigerian government has rejected his claims.

A comprehensive approach

Following his meeting Thursday with Nigerian national security adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Hegseth on Friday posted on social media that the Pentagon is “working aggressively with Nigeria to end the persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists.”

“Hegseth emphasized the need for Nigeria to demonstrate commitment and take both urgent and enduring action to stop violence against Christians and conveyed the Department’s desire to work by, with, and through Nigeria to deter and degrade terrorists that threaten the United States,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Jonathan Pratt, who leads the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, told lawmakers Thursday that “possible Department of War engagement” is part of the larger plan, while the issue has been discussed by the National Security Council, an arm of the White House that advises the president on national security and foreign policy.

But Pratt described a wide-ranging approach at a congressional hearing about Trump’s recent designation of Nigeria as “a country of particular concern” over religious freedom, which opens the door for sanctions.

“This would span from security to policing to economic,” he said. “We want to look at all of these tools and have a comprehensive strategy to get the best result possible.”

Nigeria’s violence ‘will not be reversed overnight’

The violence in Nigeria is far more complex than Trump has portrayed, with militant Islamist groups like Boko Haram killing both Christians and Muslims. At the same time, mainly Muslim herders and mostly Christian farmers have been fighting over land and water. Armed bandits who are motivated more by money than religion also are carrying out abductions for ransom, with schools being a popular target.

In two mass abductions at schools this past week, students were kidnapped from a Catholic school Friday and others taken days earlier from a school in a Muslim-majority town. In a separate attack, gunmen killed two people at a church and abducted several worshippers.

The situation has drawn increasing global attention. Rapper Nicki Minaj spoke at a U.N. event organized by the U.S., saying “no group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion.”

If the Trump administration did decide to organize an intervention, the departure of U.S. forces from neighboring Niger and their forced eviction from a French base near Chad’s capital last year have left fewer resources in the region.

Options include mobilizing resources from far-flung Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and from smaller, temporary hubs known as cooperative security locations. U.S. forces are operating in those places for specific missions, in conjunction with countries such as Ghana and Senegal, and likely aren’t big enough for an operation in Nigeria.

The region also has become a diplomatic black hole following a series of coups that rocked West Africa, leading military juntas to push out former Western partners. In Mali, senior American officials are now trying to reengage the junta.

Even if the U.S. military redirects forces and assets to strike inside Nigeria, some experts question how effective military action would be.

Judd Devermont, a senior adviser of the Africa program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said if Trump orders a few performative airstrikes, they would likely fail to degrade the Islamic militants who have been killing Christians and Muslims alike.

“Nigeria’s struggles with insecurity are decades in the making,” said Devermont, who was senior director for African affairs at the National Security Council under Democratic President Joe Biden. “It will not be reversed overnight by an influx of U.S. resources.”

Addressing the violence would require programs such as economic and interfaith partnerships as well as more robust policing, Devermont said, adding that U.S. involvement would require Nigeria’s cooperation.

“This is not a policy of neglect by the Nigerian government — it’s a problem of capacity,” Devermont said. “The federal government does not want to see its citizens being killed by Boko Haram and doesn’t want to see sectarian violence spiral out the way it has.”

US intervention carries risk

The Nigerian government rejected unilateral military intervention but said it welcomes help fighting armed groups.

Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic State of West Africa Province, have been waging a devastating Islamist insurgency in the northeastern region and the Lake Chad region, Africa’s largest basin. Militants often crisscross the lake on fast-moving boats, spilling the crisis into border countries like Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

U.S. intervention without coordinating with the Nigerian government would carry enormous danger.

“The consequences are that if the U.S deploys troops on the ground without understanding the context they are in, it poses risks to the troops,” said Malik Samuel, a security researcher at Good Governance Africa.

Nigeria’s own aerial assaults on armed groups have routinely resulted in accidental airstrikes that have killed civilians.

To get targeting right, the governments need a clear picture of the overlapping causes of farmer-herder conflict and banditry in border areas. Misreading the situation could send violence spilling over into neighboring countries, Samuel added.

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Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria, and Metz from Rabat, Morocco.