US President Donald Trump on Sunday, November 2, indicated that any potential US military action in Nigeria could involve both ground forces and air strikes, as he continued to press over the killings of Christians in the country.
Asked by reporters aboard Air Force One if he was considering deploying US troops or carrying out air strikes, Trump said, “Could be, I mean, a lot of things — I envisage a lot of things.”
“They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen,” he added.
On his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump had instructed the Pentagon to outline a potential plan of attack, following his claim that Christianity in Nigeria faces an “existential threat.”
“If Nigeria does not stem the killings, the United States will attack and it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians,” he wrote.
Responding, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Daniel Bwala, told AFP, “Nigeria is US’s partner in the global fight against terrorism. When leaders meet, there would be better outcomes.”
READ ALSO: Trump’s Military Threat Dangerous, Could Ignite Religious Conflict – Mahdi Shehu
“Nigeria welcomes US support to fight terrorism as long as it respects our territorial integrity,” Bwala said. “We do not see the [Trump post] in the literal sense. We know that Donald Trump has his own style of communication.”
Bwala suggested the post may be aimed at prompting a meeting between the two leaders to establish a coordinated approach against insecurity.
He also noted that any differences over whether terrorists target only Christians or all faiths could be discussed during the planned meeting at either the State House in Abuja or the White House in Washington.
Trump had previously claimed that “thousands of Christians are being killed (and) Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
Nigeria has denied that Christians are disproportionately targeted, with President Tinubu writing Saturday, “The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality.”
This escalation marks one of the most direct foreign threats to Nigeria in recent memory, with Trump signalling that a combination of military strategies, including ground and aerial options, could be considered.