America’s defence team has put together several plans for air attacks inside Nigeria, in line with orders from President Donald Trump to get ready for action to guard Christians against terrorist raids.
The Africa branch of the US military shared these ideas with top leaders, sorting them into big, middle, and small steps for stepping in.
The biggest plan calls for sending a full ship group with war planes to waters off West Africa, using fast jets or big bombers to hit rebel spots far up north in Nigeria.
The middle one suggests flying unmanned spy planes to target enemy hideouts, trucks, and camps, with sharp info from US spies to make hits quick and spot-on.
The smallest focuses on sharing secrets, giving supplies, and teaming up with Nigerian troops to fight groups like Boko Haram, blamed for killings, kidnaps, and church hits.
Senior US bosses admit that short raids or drone runs won’t wipe out Nigeria’s long rebel fight, unless America starts a huge push like in Iraq or Afghanistan—something no one in power there wants now.
Trump had warned before of sending soldiers to Nigeria if the claimed mass killings of Christians kept up, but the government under President Bola Tinubu denied it flat out.
China stepped in on Tuesday to back Nigeria, slamming any outsider who hides meddling behind faith or rights talk. A foreign office voice in Beijing said: “As Nigeria’s full partner, China strongly rejects any nation using religion and human rights to mess in others’ home matters, or scaring them with fines and force.”
Nigeria’s leaders turned down being named on America’s watch list for faith wrongs on Wednesday, calling it based on wrong facts and twisted views of safety fights. The info chief, Mohammed Idris, said the country battles terror, not faith hate, with both Christians and Muslims hurt by mad groups. He noted: “The bosses question ideas of aimed faith attacks. Since 2023, President Tinubu’s group has taken out over 13,500 fighters and freed more than 11,000 held people. Nigeria welcomes US team work on stopping terror but stresses fair play for its own rule.” He added that the focus stays on keeping all people safe, no matter their beliefs.
That evening, Trump repeated his push to act if the said harm to Christians goes on, saying: “Faith in Christ faces a life-or-death risk in Nigeria. America can’t watch while such bad acts happen there, and in many other places. We are set, keen, and able to save our fine Christian people worldwide!”
This all stirs up more strain in talks between the two nations, plus fresh rows in Washington about jumping into faith fights abroad.
