Nigeria vows to keep fighting extremism after Trump adds it to US watch l | World News
Trump announced that Nigeria Africa’s most populous country and its top oil producer. (AP)
Nigeria said on Saturday it would continue to combat violent extremism and promote religious tolerance after US President Donald Trump placed the country on a l of nations accused of restricting religious freedom.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria will continue to defend all citizens, irrespective of race, creed or religion,” Nigeria’s Minry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength.”
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The minry described Nigeria as “a God-fearing country where we respect faith, tolerance, diversity and inclusion, in concurrence with the rules-based international order.”
Why Trump added Nigeria to the l
On Friday, Trump announced that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and its top oil producer, had been placed on the US “Countries of Particular Concern” l, which identifies governments accused of violating religious freedoms.
Other countries on the l include China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakan.
“Chrianity is facing an exential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Chrians are being killed. Radical Islams are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump said in a social media post on Friday, without giving specific details.
Trump had placed Nigeria on the l during his first term as president. The country was later removed from it his successor, Joe Biden, in 2021.
A diverse nation with a hory of conflict
Nigeria, home to more than 200 ethnic groups, is roughly split between Chrians and Muslims, with some also practising traditional faiths. Churches and mosques stand side side in many cities.
But the country has faced repeated outbreaks of violence between communities, often linked to ethnic disputes or competition over land and water. In some cases, religion overlaps with these tensions.
For the past 15 years, the Islam armed group Boko Haram has waged an insurgency in the northeast, killing tens of thousands of people, mostly Muslims, and displacing millions.
US lawmakers react
Trump also asked the US House Appropriations Committee to study the situation and report back to him. A congressional subcommittee held a hearing earlier this year on the killings of Chrians in Nigeria.
US Representative Tom Cole, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said on X that the move “sends a strong message: the US will not ignore Chrian persecution.”
