U.S. President Donald Trump has again listed Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” accusing the nation of allowing what he described as genocide against Christians.
The claim follows Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s expression of support for Gaza at the recent United Nations General Assembly, which reportedly drew criticism from pro-Christian groups in the United States.
However, some international figures, including a Vatican Cardinal, have rejected Trump’s allegation, saying both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria suffer from the country’s widespread insecurity.
In a social media post on Friday night, Trump said, “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’ but that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide), something must be done!”
Trump also called on the U.S. Congress to take immediate action.
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“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me,” he added.
The President said the U.S. could not stay silent while such “atrocities” persist in Nigeria and elsewhere.
“We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world,” he said.