US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Nigeria’s National Security Advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, on Thursday, urging the country to take decisive steps to halt violence targeting Christians, the Pentagon announced on Friday.
Hegseth emphasized the need for “both urgent and enduring action” to protect Christians in Nigeria, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
He added that the United States is committed to working with Nigeria to “deter and degrade terrorists that threaten the United States.”
The meeting followed comments by US President Donald Trump, who described Christianity in Nigeria as facing “an existential threat.”
Trump warned that if the Nigerian government fails to stop the killings, the United States would respond with force, describing the action as “fast, vicious, and sweet.”
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with over 230 million people, is divided roughly equally between a predominantly Christian south and a largely Muslim north.
The country has long been affected by violent conflicts, including jihadist insurgencies that claim victims across religious lines.
In addition, clashes between mainly Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farmers over land and resources, particularly water, have intensified in recent years.
Experts note that while religion often appears to drive tensions, the underlying causes are frequently linked to land scarcity, population growth, and climate change.
