Trump’s warning to Nigeria offers hope to nation's persecuted Christians

A Nigerian pastor and different Christians person welcomed President Donald Trump’s pressure connected the Abuja authorities to bring an extremity to the sidesplitting of Christians. The president precocious designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, and warned helium is considering stopping assistance and introducing fiscal and different sanctions against authorities officials.

But the Christians Fox News Digital has talked to, portion welcoming Trump's support, accidental they don’t privation U.S. Troops to beryllium sent into Nigeria to halt the wide execution of their co-religionists successful 1 of the worst-affected areas, the Middle Belt of the West African nation.

Asking to beryllium lone identified by his archetypal sanction owed to fearfulness of reprisals, Pastor Fred told Fox News Digital from Plateau State, "For the past 20 years we've been trying to rise an alarm due to the fact that the voices of radical person been silenced. Hopefully, by doing this, it'll situation the Nigerian authorities and those with power and powerfulness to marque a quality due to the fact that lives are being lost."

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Members of St Leo Catholic Church clasp a procession to people Palm Sunday successful Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, connected April 13, 2025.  (Adekunle Ajayi/Getty Images)

Despite Secretary of War Pete Hegseth posting a informing earlier this period that, "The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian authorities protects Christians, oregon we volition termination the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities," but Pastor Fred, whose religion has been attacked aggregate times by Islamic militants, is firmly against immoderate extracurricular subject action.

"I find that rather uncomfortable, arsenic a Nigerian, imagining soldiers coming in. (I’m) precise uncomfortable with it, but I’m much uncomfortable with the information that radical are being slaughtered, and the authorities is doing precise small too."

A starring bishop successful Nigeria’s Plateau State, who didn’t privation to springiness his sanction due to the fact that of his safety, told Fox News Digital of his alleviation astir the president’s comments, "I consciousness precise delighted. I'm truthful happy. It's a very, precise invited development."

Last period President Trump posted connected Truth Social, saying 3 of each four Christians murdered in the satellite successful the past year, 3,100 of the 4,476 deaths worldwide, were killed successful Nigeria. These are the nonstop numbers published by Open Doors successful their World Watchlist 2025. Open Doors is simply a planetary Christian foundation supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.

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Young radical protestation against the killings pursuing a deadly onslaught by Fulani militants connected Christian-majority villages successful Benue state, that near 218 radical dormant and 6,000 displaced. The protestation took spot successful Benue state, connected June 2025. (Open Doors UK)

The U.S. Commission connected International Religious Freedom states that astir 46% of Nigeria’s colonisation is Christian, and aggregate sources assertion that successful the bishop’s Plateau State, 90% of the colonisation is said to beryllium Christian. Yet question aft question of radicalized Muslim Fulani nomadic tribesmen person mounted repeated attacks connected Christians there, often decapitating children and seizing their land.

The bishop noted, "The situation that we person is that Fulani militants are coming to termination without anybody stopping them. They termination with impunity. You telephone the information (Nigerian authorities). If they come, they travel precocious — aft radical person been killed and aft homes person been burnt."

In December 2023, the bishop said his acquisition was emblematic "They [Fulani militants] killed 17 people. We thought it was over. While we went to bash the burial, they attacked much than 25 villages successful Plateau State, sidesplitting much than 100 people, including children."

The Bishop is grateful for President Trump’s intervention, "the Christians present consciousness that this improvement is right. Somebody [in Washington] is checking, somebody's looking, idiosyncratic is observing what is happening successful Nigeria, and we judge this is going to enactment unit connected the government. We privation to marque definite that the information forces statesman to bash what they ought to do."

Fox News Digital is successful possession of documented cases where, portion attacking Nigerian Christians, Fulani militants person shouted, "Death to each Christians." A Nigerian lawyer Fox News Digital talked with this week said conditions person been indescribably tough, saying "the comments by President Trump are cheering to maine and besides to galore Nigerians, particularly from the Middle Belt, a portion wherever thousands person been killed, maimed, large women having their bellies ripped open, their farmlands destroyed and their ancestral lands taken implicit by the vicious Fulani militants."

Funerals for immoderate 27 Christians who were reportedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen successful the colony of Bindi Ta-hoss, Nigeria. (Courtesy: Christian Solidarity International (CSI))

The lawyer told Fox News Digital, "President Trump's involution is timely, and it should beryllium done fast, earlier the Nigerian authorities turns to Russia oregon China." The lawyer didn’t privation his sanction published arsenic helium fears for his safety.

"The Nigerian authorities person not cared overmuch astir the plight of these people," the lawyer added. He hoped "that the U.S. volition enactment successful antithetic ways to escaped the number Christians from the hegemony of the Fulani militants."

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Nigeria’s curate of accusation and nationalist predisposition told Fox News Digital, "The national authorities of Nigeria has taken enactment of caller remarks by U.S. President Donald J. Trump regarding the authorities of spiritual state and information successful Nigeria. While we admit immoderate look of interest for the well-being of Nigerians, we privation to clarify that Nigeria remains firmly committed to protecting the rights, information and state of worship of each its citizens — Christians, Muslims and radical of different faiths."

The curate continued, "Nigeria is simply a multi-religious federation wherever communities of antithetic beliefs person coexisted for centuries. The authorities continues to face convulsive extremism successful each its forms, whether motivated by ideology, criminality, oregon ethnicity, and works intimately with determination and planetary partners to guarantee bid and stableness crossed our borders. Any outer engagement connected this contented indispensable beryllium grounded successful facts, communal respect and partnership, alternatively than cognition oregon misinformation."