Overview
- In posts on Truth Social, the president said the U.S. would halt all assistance and was ready to move against those he called Islamist terrorists if Abuja fails to stop killings of Christians.
- Nigeria’s president Bola Tinubu rejected the characterization, saying the country is not religiously intolerant and disputing the premise of the U.S. claims.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly replied “Yes sir” and said the War Department is preparing to act, echoing the president’s directive.
- Independent analysts, including ACLED, dispute genocide claims and report that violence targets both Christians and Muslims, cautioning against inflated casualty figures.
- Context from U.N. and researchers points to multiple overlapping crises—Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency, farmer–herder clashes, and banditry—with more than 40,000 deaths and millions displaced since 2009.