Nigeria is holding diplomatic discussions with the United States on enhanced security cooperation, following President Donald Trump’s early-November threats of unilateral military intervention over alleged widespread killings of Christians by jihadists, Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar confirmed Monday.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Abuja, Tuggar stated that the talks have advanced beyond the initial threats and now centre on joint efforts to address global terrorism challenges. “What we are discussing is how we can collaborate to tackle security challenges that are in the interest of the entire planet,” he said, emphasising that dialogue has de-escalated the risk of U.S. military action.
Tuggar explicitly downplayed the prospect of American strikes, telling AFP: “No, I do not think so. Because we continue to talk, and... the discussion has progressed. It’s moved on from that.”
This development marks a shift from heightened tensions earlier in the month, when Trump redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for religious freedom violations and warned of potential “fast, vicious, and sweet” U.S. operations if violence against Christians persisted.
The foreign minister acknowledged Nigeria’s ongoing security crisis but rejected the characterisation of targeted religious persecution. He described claims of anti-Christian genocide as fuelled by “false narratives” and misinformation aimed at undermining the country’s stability.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with roughly 230 million people evenly divided between a Muslim-majority north and Christian-majority south, has grappled with multifaceted violence for over a decade.
Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) continue insurgencies in the northeast, while banditry and farmer-herder clashes plague the northwest and Middle Belt regions. These conflicts have claimed thousands of lives annually, affecting Muslims and Christians.
