President Donald Trump declared Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) and has instructed the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action.”
Under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, the U.S. president must designate countries that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as CPCs. Violations include torture, prolonged detention without charges, and forced disappearance, according to the State Department.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump said in a social media post on Nov. 1.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the post on Saturday, writing: “The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
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