Nigeria ‘welcomes US assistance’ to fight ‘terrorism’ after Trump’s threats

Nigeria’s statesmanlike spokesperson welcomes US assistance ‘as agelong arsenic it recognises our territorial integrity’.

Nigeria says it would invited assistance from the United States successful warring equipped groups arsenic agelong arsenic its territorial integrity is respected aft US President Donald Trump threatened subject action successful the West African state implicit what helium claimed was persecution of Christians there.

In a societal media station connected Saturday, Trump said  helium had asked the Department of Defense to hole for imaginable “fast” subject enactment successful Nigeria if Africa’s astir populous state fails to ace down connected the “killing of Christians”.

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A spokesperson for Nigeria’s presidency, Daniel Bwala, told the Reuters quality bureau connected Sunday that the state would “welcome US assistance arsenic agelong arsenic it recognises our territorial integrity”.

“I americium definite by the clip these 2 leaders conscionable and sit, determination would beryllium amended outcomes successful our associated resoluteness to combat terrorism,” Bwala added.

In his post, Trump said the US would instantly chopped disconnected each assistance to the state “if the Nigerian Government continues to let the sidesplitting of Christians”.

Earlier, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu pushed backmost against claims of spiritual intolerance and defended his country’s efforts to support spiritual freedom.

“Since 2023, our medication has maintained an unfastened and progressive engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to code information challenges which impact citizens crossed faiths and regions,” Tinubu said successful a statement.

“The characterisation of Nigeria arsenic religiously intolerant does not bespeak our nationalist reality, nor does it instrumentality into information the accordant and sincere efforts of the authorities to safeguard state of religion and beliefs for each Nigerians.”

Nigeria, a state of much than 200 cardinal people, is divided betwixt the mostly Muslim northbound and mostly Christian south.

Armed groups person been engaged successful a struggle that has been mostly confined to the northeast of the state and has dragged connected for much than 15 years. Analysts said that portion Christians person been killed, astir of the victims person been Muslims.

‘No Christian genocide’

While quality rights groups person urged the authorities to bash much to code unrest successful the country, which has experienced deadly attacks by Boko Haram and other equipped groups, experts accidental claims of a “Christian genocide” are mendacious and simplistic.

“All the information reveals is that determination is nary Christian genocide going connected successful Nigeria,” Bulama Bukarti, a Nigerian humanitarian lawyer and expert connected struggle and development, told Al Jazeera. This is “a unsafe far-right communicative that has been simmering for a agelong clip that President Trump is amplifying today”.

“It is divisive, and it is lone going to further summation instability successful Nigeria,” Bukarti added, explaining that equipped groups successful Nigeria person been targeting some Muslims and Christians.

“They weaponry markets. They weaponry churches. They weaponry mosques, and they onslaught each civilian determination they find. They bash not discriminate betwixt Muslims and Christians.”

Ebenezer Obadare, a elder chap of Africa studies astatine the Washington, DC-based Council connected Foreign Relations, agreed and said the Trump medication should enactment with Nigerian authorities to code the “common enemy”.

“This is precisely the infinitesimal erstwhile Nigeria needs assistance, particularly subject assistance,” Obadare said. “The incorrect happening to bash is to invade Nigeria and override the authorities oregon the authorization of the Nigerian government. Doing that volition beryllium counterproductive.”