President Trump has warned of “existential threat” to Christians in Nigeria and called for U.S. probe into the alleged mass killings.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Christians in Nigeria face an “existential threat,” urging Congress to launch an investigation into what he called “mass slaughter” across Africa’s most populous nation.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump alleged that “radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” asserting that thousands of Christians are being killed—though he provided no evidence to support the claims.
The U.S. president also announced that he is relisting Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) — a State Department designation reserved for nations accused of engaging in severe violations of religious freedom.
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“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” Trump wrote. “The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world.”
Trump further disclosed that he had assigned two federal lawmakers to investigate the situation, emphasizing that religious freedom remains a core American value.
While Trump’s comments reignite longstanding U.S. political debate over religious persecution in Nigeria, experts and analysts caution that framing the violence as a “Christian genocide” oversimplifies a complex crisis driven by multiple factors — including ethnic tensions, land disputes, climate change, and criminal banditry.
Nigeria, which is evenly split between a Muslim-majority north and a Christian-majority south, has for over 15 years faced deadly insurgencies by Boko Haram and its offshoot ISWAP, responsible for over 40,000 deaths and millions displaced.
Beyond the northeast, armed bandit groups across the northwest and north-central regions have attacked rural communities, killing and kidnapping civilians. Security experts note that many of these attacks are motivated by crime and competition for land, not religion.
Still, Trump’s remarks and the renewed CPC designation are expected to heighten diplomatic tension between Washington and Abuja, as the Nigerian government has consistently denied accusations of systemic persecution of Christians.
