Nigeria Open to U.S. Assistance After Trump Threatens Aid Cut and Orders Military Planning

Overview

• President Donald Trump declared Nigeria a “country of special concern,” warned that Christianity faces an existential threat there, and cited radical Islamist groups as responsible for killings.
• Trump said he instructed the Pentagon to prepare options, threatened to suspend all U.S. assistance, and asked lawmakers including Riley Moore and Appropriations Chair Tom Cole to investigate and report back.
• Nigeria’s presidency said U.S. support would be welcomed if the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected, and aides suggested a Tinubu–Trump meeting could take place soon.
• President Bola Tinubu and the Foreign Ministry rejected the portrayal of targeted persecution and emphasized constitutional protections for all faiths while expressing a desire to keep the U.S. as a close partner.
• The dispute unfolds against a 15‑year insurgency by Boko Haram and ISWAP that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, with violence concentrated in the northeast and victims including both Christians and Muslims, according to UN and NGO accounts.