Terrorism not fueled by religion, stop your threats, bully against Nigeria – US Lawmaker tells Trump
Terrorism not fueled by religion, stop your threats, bully against Nigeria – US Lawmaker tells Trump
US Representative Pramila Jayapal has sharply criticised President Donald Trump’s handling of claims of Christian persecution in Nigeria, describing his response as “misguided” and “incomplete.”
Trump recently re-designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” and warned that the US military could intervene “guns-a-blazing to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Speaking at a congressional hearing on Thursday in Washington, D.C., Jayapal challenged the president’s framing of the crisis.
She argued that portraying the situation solely as Christian persecution was “simplistic” and ignored Nigeria’s “intersectional diversity” and the complex factors driving violence across the country.
“Certainly, religion is a contributing factor to the violence, but a review by the Search for Common Ground found that in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, religion was not a primary driver of conflict,” Jayapal said.
“Instead, violence has been directed against both Christians and Muslims, regardless of religion, at the hands of armed terror groups like Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa, or fuelled by differences in lifestyle between farmer and herder groups compounded by climate change and governance issues.
“And so, I want to start by saying I’m very concerned that a day after President Trump saw a clip on Fox News about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, he threatened to go ‘guns-a-blazing’ in Nigeria and revoke all assistance.
“Can you tell me under what authority would the US military strike inside of Nigeria?” she asked Jonathan Pratt, a senior official at the US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, who testified at the panel.
Pratt disclosed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had directed the department to work with the Nigerian government on a coordinated action plan.
“The secretary of state has directed us to put together a comprehensive plan that uses all tools at our disposal, including security and the Department of War, and this would be primarily focused on the security that we are providing to the government of Nigeria and how they are deploying their assets,” Pratt said.
“We can also share information and intelligence. We can talk about counterterrorism. And so those are the tools that we are primarily looking at in our strategy.”
Jayapal questioned why these measures were not the first line of action, and Pratt responded that the State Department had long been engaged in efforts to address insecurity in Nigeria.
She stressed the importance of following a strategic approach rather than making threats. “I just wish we would actually stick to that playbook rather than a bully and threaten of a country that is extremely important to us and to the region,” she said.
“I don’t think that’s the right way to go, to just go on Truth Social and threaten ‘guns-a-blazing’. I think what you’ve described is much more appropriate.”
At the same hearing, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs called Trump’s threat “reckless.” She emphasized that Congress had not authorised military action and warned that any unilateral strike without Nigeria’s consent would violate international law.
