ABUJA, Lagos — Nigeria’s national security leadership held an emergency meeting in Abuja on Monday, November 3, 2025, following a series of public statements from United States President Donald Trump suggesting potential US military intervention over alleged persecution of Christians in the country.
National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu convened the closed-door session with service chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies at the National Counter Terrorism Centre.
While officials did not publicly disclose the agenda, the urgent discussions were understood to focus on forming a coordinated response to mounting diplomatic pressure from Washington and reviewing intelligence in light of escalating rhetoric from the White House.
The high-level gathering comes days after Trump designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern,” alleging widespread religious violence against Christians.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed,” Trump said, announcing the designation on Friday, October 31, 2025.
In subsequent remarks, Trump directed the United States Department of War to prepare for “possible action” aimed at eliminating what he described as Islamic terrorist networks in Nigeria.
He later warned that he was “not ruling out air strikes or boots on the ground” to “completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists killing Christians in Nigeria.”
The US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, echoed the administration’s position, stating that preparations were underway “for possible military action if the Nigerian government fails to end the killing of innocent Christians.”
The remarks mark one of the most direct threats of military engagement by the United States in Nigeria in decades, raising alarm across diplomatic and security circles in Abuja.
Nigerian officials have not publicly responded to the US ultimatum, but the emergency meeting signals the seriousness with which authorities are treating the development.
The pressure from Washington has been amplified by a small bloc of right-wing US legislators who have long accused Nigerian authorities of failing to protect Christian communities.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has been among the most vocal, repeatedly claiming Christians face persecution in Africa’s most populous nation.
In October, he introduced the “Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025”, seeking sanctions on Nigerian officials allegedly responsible for “facilitating the mass murder of Christians.”
The bill proposes penalties against officials who enforce religious-based laws, including Sharia and blasphemy statutes.
Cruz, a close ally of Trump, submitted the legislation weeks before the US president signed a memo labelling anti-American, anti-capitalist, and anti-Christian ideologies as forms of domestic terrorism.
Although religious violence has occurred in Nigeria, analysts note that insecurity in the country stems from multiple sources, including jihadist insurgencies, rural banditry, and inter-communal clashes.
With tensions rising, attention now turns to the Nigerian government’s diplomatic outreach and whether Washington’s threat will evolve beyond rhetoric.
For now, Abuja’s posture appears cautious, as officials work behind closed doors to assess the implications of an unprecedented warning from the US president.
