Nigeria proposes presidential talks with US after Trump threatens military action, denying Christians are specifically targeted by jihadists
LAGOS: Nigeria has proposed a meeting between its president and US counterpart Donald Trump following the American leader’s threat of military action over jihadist violence.
President Trump declared on social media that he requested Pentagon plans for a potential attack against Nigeria after warning Christianity faced existential threats there.
Trump asserted that without Nigerian action to stop killings, the United States would launch a military operation described as “fast, vicious, and sweet”.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesman Daniel Bwala confirmed Nigeria welcomes US counterterrorism support provided it respects territorial sovereignty.
“We do not see the social media post in the literal sense,” Bwala stated regarding Trump’s military threat.
Bwala suggested the post represented Trump’s distinctive communication style intended to force diplomatic engagement between the two leaders.
The spokesman indicated potential differences regarding religious targeting in terrorist attacks would be resolved when both presidents meet soon.
Bwala declined to provide specific details about any forthcoming meeting while speaking from Washington.
Trump had earlier claimed without evidence that thousands of Christians were being slaughtered by radical Islamists in Nigeria.
Nigeria maintains that jihadist violence affects all faiths equally rather than specifically targeting Christian communities.
President Tinubu responded that characterising Nigeria as religiously intolerant contradicts the country’s actual national circumstances. – AFP
