The Trump administration re-added the West African country to a US watch list over alleged Christian persecution. Trump later threatened that US forces might “go into” Nigeria to strike Islamist groups.
The northern state of Borno, where the majority of Boko Haram’s recent attacks have been concentrated, is a Muslim-majority state [FILE: Dec 19, 2022]
Nigeria has vowed to continue defending citizens of all religions after the administration of US President Donald Trump listed it as a “country of concern” over what Trump claimed was an “existential threat” to Christianity.
The West African state’s population of over 220 million is almost equally divided between Muslims and Christians.
Islamist militant groups, such as Boko Haram, have been conducting attacks in the country for some 15 years, but most of their victims are Muslims living in the north, where the majority of the attacks occur.
Nigeria also witnesses other incidents of violence rooted in communal and ethnic conflicts and fights over scarce land and water resources.
Nigeria’s northeast sees resurgence of Islamist attack
What did Trump say about Christianity in Nigeria?
In a social media post on Friday, Trump announced Nigeria had been re-added to the US watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote, providing no details or evidence for his claims.
Nigeria was added to the same list in 2020, also over religious freedom concerns, during Trump’s first term in office. It was removed a year later under Democratic former President Joe Biden.
Weeks ago, US Republican Senator Ted Cruz claimed “Christian mass murder” was taking place in Nigeria, urging Congress to designate the country as a violator of religious freedoms.
