US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he has asked the Defense Department to prepare for possible "fast" military action in Nigeria if the West African nation fails to crack down on the killing of Christians.
The US government will also immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and top oil producer, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
If the United States sends in military forces, it would go in "'guns-a-blazing,' to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities," Trump wrote, without providing any evidence of specifics about the treatment of Christians in Nigeria.
Trump called Nigeria a "disgraced country" and warned its government must move quickly. "If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!" he wrote.
Abuja had no immediate reaction to Trump's threat of military action. The White House also had no immediate comment on the potential timing of any US military action.
Although the US Department of Defense referred Reuters to the White House for comment on Trump's threat, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released a social media post of his own.
"The Department of War is preparing for action," Hegseth wrote on X. "Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities."
Nigeria vows to fight extremism after Trump adds nation to watch list
The Nigerian government on Saturday vowed to keep fighting violent extremism and said it hoped Washington would remain a close ally after Trump added the West African nation to a US watch list over what he said were threats to Christianity.
"The Federal Government of Nigeria will continue to defend all citizens, irrespective of race, creed, or religion. Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength," its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
"Nigeria is a God-fearing country where we respect faith, tolerance, diversity and inclusion, in concurrence with the rules-based international order," the ministry added.
On Friday, Trump said he was putting Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer and most populous country, on a "Countries of Particular Concern" list of nations the US finds have engaged in religious freedom violations, which also includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.
The Republican US president had designated the country a concern during his first term in the White House, but his Democratic successor Joe Biden removed it from the US State Department list in 2021.
"Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter," he wrote in a social media post on Friday without offering any specifics.
A nation of more than 200 ethnic groups practicing Christianity, Islam and traditional religions, Nigeria has a long history of peaceful coexistence with mosques and churches dotting its cities.
But it also has a long history of violence breaking out between groups, in which religious differences sometimes overlap with other fault lines such as ethnic divisions or conflict over scarce land and water resources.
For 15 years, the extremist Islamist armed group Boko Haram has also terrorized northeast Nigeria, an insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly Muslims.
Trump also asked the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee to examine the issue and report back to him. A US congressional subcommittee held a hearing on Christian killings in Nigeria earlier this year.
Appropriations Committee Chairman US Representative Tom Cole, in an X post on Friday, said the designation "sends a strong message: the US will not ignore Christian persecution."