Overview
- At a Berlin press conference, Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar said state‑supported religious persecution is impossible under Nigeria’s constitution and displayed a document outlining protections.
- Trump posted that the United States would stop all aid to Nigeria and directed the Department of War to prepare for potential action, following the recent U.S. redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
- Nigeria’s presidency said it would welcome U.S. assistance against Islamist insurgents if the country’s territorial integrity is respected, while an adviser suggested Trump’s remarks were not being taken literally.
- Open Doors reports thousands of Christians killed and abducted in Nigeria over the past year, though it avoids using the term genocide, and Amnesty International records more than 10,000 people killed since 2023 across communities of different faiths.
- U.S. debate is intensifying as Senator Ted Cruz advances a bill to sanction Nigerian officials over alleged religious freedom violations, while coverage highlights both attacks on Christian communities and deadly assaults on Muslims.