US President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of Nigeria on Friday, calling the country “a disgrace” as he renewed accusations that the government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was failing to protect Christians from extremist violence.
Speaking on a radio programme, Trump echoed his threat to take military action against Islamist militants in Nigeria if the government does not “do more” to stop attacks on Christian communities.
“Nigeria is a disgrace. The whole thing is a disgrace,” Trump said. “They’re killing people by the thousands. It’s a genocide, and I’m really angry about it. And we pay, you know, we give a lot of subsidies to Nigeria. We’re going to end up stopping.”
Trump’s comments came a day after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, at the Pentagon.
The meeting was aimed at reinforcing the Trump administration’s claim that Christians in Nigeria are facing “horrific violence.”
“Under @POTUS leadership, DOW is working aggressively with Nigeria to end the persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists,” Hegseth said in a post on X on Friday, using the acronym “DOW” — the administration’s preferred term for the Department of Defence (“Department of War”).
In that segment, Trump said the Nigerian government had been “very ineffective,” adding that militants were “killing Christians at will.”
The renewed outcry follows multiple attacks in northwestern Nigeria, including the kidnapping of students from a Catholic secondary school in Niger and the abduction of worshippers in Kwara.
Recent incidents form part of years of violence involving jihadist groups like Boko Haram and factions aligned with ISIS, responsible for thousands of deaths across Christian and Muslim communities.
Nevertheless, Trump and his allies continue to promote the narrative. Earlier this week, rapper Nicki Minaj appeared at the United Nations alongside US Ambassador Mike Waltz to echo the disputed claims.
Separately, Representative Riley Moore, a Republican from West Virginia, met Ribadu in Washington on Wednesday as part of the ongoing high-level engagements between US officials and Nigeria’s security leadership.
