Abuja [Nigeria], November 3: Nigeria says it would welcome assistance from the United States in fighting armed groups as long as its territorial integrity is respected after US President Donald Trump threatened military action in the West African country over what he claimed was persecution of Christians there.
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said he had asked the Department of Defense to prepare for possible "fast" military action in Nigeria if Africa's most populous country fails to crack down on the "killing of Christians".
A spokesperson for Nigeria's presidency, Daniel Bwala, told the Reuters news agency on Sunday that the country would "welcome US assistance as long as it recognises our territorial integrity".
"I am sure by the time these two leaders meet and sit, there would be better outcomes in our joint resolve to fight terrorism," Bwala added. In his post, Trump said the US would immediately cut off all assistance to the country "if the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians".
Earlier, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu pushed back against claims of religious intolerance and defended his country's efforts to protect religious freedom.
"Since 2023, our administration has maintained an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions," Tinubu said in a statement.
"The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians." Nigeria, a country of more than 200 million people, is divided between the largely Muslim north and mostly Christian south.
Armed groups have been engaged in a conflict that has been largely confined to the northeast of the country and has dragged on for more than 15 years. Analysts said that while Christians have been killed, most of the victims have been Muslims.
While human rights groups have urged the government to do more to address unrest in the country, which has experienced deadly attacks by Boko Haram and other armed groups, experts say claims of a "Christian genocide" are false and simplistic.
Source: Qatar Tribune
