WASHINGTON
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Nigeria’s national security adviser days after President Donald Trump threatened military action over what it calls persecution of Christians in the West African nation, media reports said on Thursday.
The Pentagon meeting with Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was not on public schedules and was closed to the press, two defense officials claimed, according to ABC News.
Earlier this month, Trump warned on his social media platform that if the Nigerian government “continues to allow the killing of Christians,” the US may halt all aid and intervene militarily “guns-a-blazing.”
He ordered the Defense Department, which he recently rebranded the “Department of War” without making an official name change, to prepare for potential fast-strike operations.
“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet,” Trump wrote, directing Hegseth to act.
Hegseth publicly replied: “Yes sir, the Department of War is preparing for action.”
The violence in Nigeria has gained growing attention from conservative circles in the US, including Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Riley Moore, both from Trump’s Republican Party.
Independent monitors, including the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, report that tens of thousands of civilians have died in Nigeria in recent years, with both Christians and Muslims among the victims.
‘Label does not reflect our national reality’
Analysts say the situation in Nigeria is more nuanced than the picture painted by Trump. Security analyst Nnamdi Obasi, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group think tank, told CNN: “In most parts of the country, Christians and Muslims live peacefully with each other.”
He added: “Reports of widespread persecution and mass slaughter of Christians are seriously misread and exaggerate the challenges of interfaith relations in the country.”
Nigeria has rejected its inclusion on the US list of countries violating religious freedom.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said the label “does not reflect our national reality” and called it based on “misinformation and faulty data.”
The US currently has no ground troops stationed in Nigeria, with only embassy personnel present.
Officials warn that deploying forces would be logistically difficult due to terrain, security risks, and local sensitivities.
Drone operations would also face hurdles, as the US lost access to bases in the neighboring nation of Niger after a military coup.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jacob McGee said the US is holding “frank conversations” with Nigerian officials.
“Trump’s bold action was welcomed by civil society and religious groups,” the outlet quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, a Nigerian delegation met lawmakers in Washington.
“I made it crystal clear the US must see tangible steps to ensure Christians are not subject to violence, persecution, displacement, and death,” said Republican Moore.
