Times: Evangelicals are pushing Trump towards military intervention in Nigeria
US President Donald Trump sparked a wave of controversy worldwide after threatening to send military forces to Nigeria, in response to pressure from his evangelical base, which is demanding protection for Christians from what it describes as religious persecution, according to the Times newspaper.
In a joint news report by two of its correspondents, the newspaper said this new development came after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who had focused his campaigns on what he considered a genocide of Christians in Nigeria, based on controversial figures about the killing of 125,000 Christians and the destruction of 19,000 churches over 15 years.
The Times says that although the source of these figures is unclear, they have been repeated in other circles of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement.
In a post on his Truth Social last Saturday, Trump said he had ordered the Department of Defense to begin planning for swift and decisive military action, warning that he would cut off all US aid and support to Nigeria unless its government took urgent action to stop what he called massacres against Christians.
The Times noted that the US president, speaking from the presidential plane the following day, reiterated his intention to intervene militarily, describing Nigeria as a “disgraceful country,” adding that the intervention could include sending troops or launching airstrikes.
His threats came after statements he made last Friday in which he said that “Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria,” and that “Islamic extremists are responsible for these massacres”.
On the other hand, the Nigerian government responded that it welcomed US support provided its sovereignty was respected, asserting that Trump’s remarks were interpreted more as political rhetoric than a genuine threat.
Nigerian President Bola Tinbo stated that his country upholds freedom of belief and religious tolerance and rejects being labeled an intolerant nation.
Trump’s remarks were accompanied by a campaign of support from influential religious figures in his circle, such as Reverend Paula White and Vice President J.D. Vance, while Reverend Franklin Graham considered Nigeria to be experiencing genocide against Christians.
In contrast, the Times reported that independent US data indicated that the violence in Nigeria is complex and multi-motivated, and that its victims are from different religions, with more than 20,000 people killed since 2020, including hundreds of Muslims and Christians alike.
For her part, academic Olagomuke Oyandele of the Center for Global Affairs at New York University warned that focusing on the religious or ethnic identity of the victims could exacerbate the crisis, stressing that “what we are witnessing are mass killings that aren’t targeting a specific group”.
The Times newspaper pointed out that relations between the two countries have been strained this year after Nigeria rejected US pressure on African countries to accept prisoners deported from the United States, while countries such as Uganda and the small kingdom of Eswatini agreed to do so.
The Times reported that Trump’s position apparently doesn’t align with that of his advisor on Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, who told Nigerian media last month that “Boko Haram and the Islamic State are killing more Muslims than Christians,” adding that “the suffering includes everyone, regardless of their background”.
