United States President Donald Trump has warned that further military strikes could be carried out in Nigeria if attacks on Christians persist.
Trump issued the warning during an interview with The New York Times when asked whether the Christmas Day missile strikes targeting Islamic State-linked militants marked the beginning of a broader military campaign.
The strikes came weeks after Trump publicly threatened to deploy American forces into Nigeria to confront terrorist groups accused by some US politicians of targeting Christians in the country.
Following the operation, Nigerian authorities said the strike was a one-off incident and that Nigeria maintained control over decisions affecting its territory. Ademola Oshodi, senior special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on foreign affairs and protocol, stated at the time that Nigeria retained decision-making authority.
However, Trump later suggested that more military action could follow.
In the interview published on Thursday, the US president said he preferred the operation to remain a single strike but warned that continued violence against Christians would prompt repeated attacks.
“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump said. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”
The Nigerian government has consistently rejected claims that Christians are being specifically targeted, maintaining that terrorism-related violence affects people of all faiths.
In October, Trump’s senior adviser on Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, stated that extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS had killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria.
When asked to respond to that assessment, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims of the violence but insisted that Christians were the primary targets.
Meanwhile, flight tracking data following the Christmas Day strikes indicated that the United States resumed intelligence-gathering and surveillance operations over Nigeria.
