Nigeria ‘welcomes US assistance’ to fight terrorists after Donald Trump alleges mass killing of Christians – thenationalnews.com

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November 02, 2025
Nigeria said on Sunday that it would welcome assistance from the US to combat Islamist militants, provided Washington respects its territorial integrity, after President Donald Trump threatened military action over alleged persecution of Christians.
In a sharply worded social media post on Saturday, Mr Trump, who previously sought the Nobel Peace Prize, said he had instructed the Pentagon to draft a possible military plan, a day after claiming that Christianity was “facing an existential threat in Nigeria”.
Daniel Bwala, an adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, said his country remained open to co-operation with Washington provided it respected Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“We welcome US assistance as long as it recognises our territorial integrity,” Mr Bwala told Reuters.
He downplayed Mr Trump’s remarks, including his description of Nigeria as a “disgraced country” saying the two nations share common security interests.
“I am sure by the time these two leaders meet and sit, there would be better outcomes in our joint resolve to fight terrorism,” he said.
Mr Trump’s threat of military action came a day after his administration reinstated Nigeria on the US State Department’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern”, a designation reserved for nations accused of severe violations of religious freedom.
Other countries on the list include China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.
Nigeria, a nation of more than 200 million people and about 200 ethnic groups, is split between a predominantly Muslim north and a largely Christian south.
For more than 15 years, Islamist insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have terrorised communities in the north-east, killing thousands.
Beyond the insurgency, Nigeria faces a patchwork of internal conflicts. In the country’s central region, clashes between mostly Muslim herders and mainly Christian farmers have erupted repeatedly over access to land and water.
In the north-west, heavily armed gangs frequently raid villages and kidnap residents for ransom, deepening insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation.
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