US President Donald Trump has intensified his warning of possible military intervention in Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that Trump said he would not rule out forceful options as he reacts to allegations of targeted killings of Christians in the country.
Recall that on October 31, Trump redesignated Nigeria as a country of particular concern amid claims of a Christian genocide, and he pressed the Nigerian government to act swiftly to stop the alleged killing of Christians.
Hours after that designation, Trump signalled that air strikes or a ground invasion remained on the table as part of a campaign to eliminate armed Islamist groups accused of attacking Christian communities.
In a video message delivered behind a lectern bearing the seal of his office, he condemned the violence and warned of immediate repercussions if Nigerian authorities did not move decisively.
Trump reiterated that the US would halt all assistance to Nigeria should the attacks persist, adding that there would be hell to pay.
He said he had directed the US Department of War to prepare for possible military action and insisted any intervention would be both forceful and deliberate.
Trump further said Christianity in Nigeria faced an existential danger and called on US lawmakers to investigate and report back at once.
He said, “If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA Will immediately stop all aid assistance to Nigeria.”
“We are going to do things to Nigerians that Nigeria is not going to be happy about and may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
“I am hereby instructing the Department of War to prepare for possible actions. If we attack, it is going to be vicious and sweet just as the terrorist thugs attack our chrished chirstians.”
“The Nigerian government had better move fast before it is too late. “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands and thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
Trump also appealed to Representative Riley Moore and Tom Cole, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, to urgently examine the situation and report back.
According to him, the United States cannot stand by while such atrocities occur at home or abroad, and reaffirmed America’s readiness to protect Christian communities worldwide.
He said, “I am hereby making Nigeria a country of particular concern. That’s a legal definition. When the Christians or any such group is slaughtered, like it’s happening in Nigeria, 3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide. What horrible numbers! Something has to be done.”
“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House appropriations committee, to immediately look into this matter and report back to me.”
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other countries. “It’s not only Nigeria, it’s all over. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world.”
