The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has renewed his attack on the Nigerian government, accusing it of failing to stop what he described as deadly, systematic assaults on Christian communities.
In an audio message aired on The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio on Friday, Trump claimed Nigeria was “a disgrace,” alleging that thousands had been killed and that the violence amounted to “genocide”.
“I think Nigeria is a disgrace. The whole thing is a disgrace. They are killing people by the thousands. It is a genocide, and I am really angry about it,” he said.
Trump warned that the US could withdraw financial support to Nigeria if the killings persisted, insisting that Washington’s aid should not be going to a government he accused of “doing nothing”.
“And we pay, you know, we give a lot of subsidy to Nigeria. We are going to end up stopping. The government has done nothing. They are very ineffective. They are killing Christians at will,” he said, adding that the crisis had been largely overlooked until he intervened. “You know, until I got involved in it two weeks ago, nobody even talked about it.”
The former president has long been a vocal critic of Nigeria’s record on religious violence, previously redesignating the country a “Country of Particular Concern” and warning that Christianity faced an “existential threat”.
He has also promised that if Abuja fails to contain the violence, an American response would be “fast, vicious, and sweet,” heightening political tension in Nigeria and prompting the federal government to dispatch a high-level delegation to Washington.
On Thursday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, at the Pentagon. In a brief statement, the Pentagon said Hegseth urged Nigeria to take “decisive action” against the escalating attacks targeting Christians.
A day earlier, US Congressman Riley Moore also received the Nigerian delegation in Washington, describing their discussions—focused on counterterrorism cooperation and the protection of vulnerable communities—as “frank, honest, and productive”.
The visiting Nigerian team included senior political and security officials: Bianca Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun; Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi (SAN); the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Olatunbosun Oluyede; and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lt Gen Emmanuel Undiendeye, among others.
