Trump tells military to prepare for 'action' against Islamist militants in Nigeria

US President Donald Trump has ordered the military to prepare for action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups, accusing the government of failing to protect Christians.

"They're killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria. They're killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We're not going to allow that to happen," the US president said.

Trump did not say which killings he was referring to, but in October 2025, he gave a figure of 3,100 Christians killed over the previous year, which a White House official said was based on research by Christian campaign group Open Doors.

The group says more Christians are killed in Nigeria than anywhere else. Wider claims of a genocide against Nigeria's Christians have been circulating in recent weeks and months in some right-wing US circles.

Nigeria is battling multiple security crises in different parts of the country which President Bola Tinubu says affects people "across faiths and regions".

Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday that he had instructed the US Department of War to prepare for "possible action".

He warned that he might send the military into Nigeria "guns-a-blazing" unless the Nigerian government intervened, and said that all aid to what he called "the now disgraced country" would be cut.

Trump had said: "If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!"

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth then replied to the post by writing: "Yes sir.

"The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities."

On Sunday, he reiterated that his country could deploy troops to Nigeria or carry out airstrikes to stop the alleged killings.

Responding to Trump's statement, an advisor to Nigeria's president told the BBC that any military action against the jihadist groups should be carried out together.

Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would welcome US help in tackling the Islamist insurgents but noted that it was a "sovereign" country.

He also said the jihadists were not targeting members of a particular religion and that they had killed people from all faiths, or none.

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has insisted there is religious tolerance in the country.

Trump's threat triggered alarm across Nigeria. Many on social media urged the government to step up its fight against Islamist groups to avert a situation where foreign troops are sent into the country.

But Mr Bwala, who said he was a Christian pastor, told the BBC's Newshour programme that Trump had a "unique way of communicating" and that Nigeria was not taking his words literally.

"We know the heart and intent of Trump is to help us fight insecurity," he said, adding that he hoped Trump would meet Tinubu in the coming days to discuss the issue.

Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern" because of the "existential threat" posed to its Christian population. He said thousands had been killed.

This is a designation used by the US State Department that provides for sanctions against countries "engaged in severe violations of religious freedom".

Following this announcement, Nigeria's president said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.

"The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality," Tinubu said in a statement.

In central areas of the country, there is a long-running conflict between herders, who are mostly Muslim, and farmers, who are largely Christians.

According to a report from Amnesty International in May 2025, more than 10,000 people were killed in a wave of attacks over the previous two years and "the majority, if not all, of those affected by these attacks are farmers".

Amnesty and other rights groups characterise this conflict as being mainly about access to land and water, however some Christian groups describe the herders as "jihadists". There have been account of herders burning churches, and also of farming communities burning mosques.

Elsewhere, in the north-east, Islamist groups such as Boko Haram have been waging an insurgency for 15 years, killing thousands of people and forcing millions to flee their homes. The population in this area is largely Muslim with a Christian minority.

Boko Haram has been accused of killing Muslim religious leaders who disagree with their version of Islam but the jihadists are known to target anyone who doesn't agree with their religious beliefs.

Acled, an organisation which monitors political violence around the world, says Churches in the area have been burnt and worshippers killed. The group does not routinely disaggregate victims of political violence by religious affiliation but says jihadists have targeted the region's Christians as part of their wider campaign.

Trump has frequently expressed satisfaction over not having embroiled the US in a war during his tenure, and has cast himself as a peace-making president.

But the Republican leader is facing a growing number of voices domestically, particularly from the political right, who have drawn attention to the situation in Nigeria.

Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern" because of the "existential threat" posed to its Christian population. He said "thousands" had been killed, without providing any evidence.

This is a designation used by the US State Department that provides for sanctions against countries "engaged in severe violations of religious freedom".

Following this announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.

"The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality," the Nigerian leader said in a statement.

Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people - however most of these have been Muslims, according to Acled, a group which analyses political violence around the world.

In central Nigeria, there are also frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and farming groups, who are often Christian, over access to water and pasture.

Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also seen thousands killed, but atrocities have been committed on both sides and human rights group say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted.

Trump has frequently expressed satisfaction over not having embroiled the US in a war during his tenure, and has cast himself as a peace-making president.

But the Republican leader is facing a growing number of voices domestically, particularly from the political right, who have drawn attention to the situation in Nigeria.

Additional reporting by Chris Ewokor in Abuja

Update 10 September 2026: This article bas been amended following an upheld complaint by the BBC's Executive Complaints Unit.

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