
Our Correspondent Abuja Bureau
Ribadu, service chiefs hold emergency security meeting after Trump’s military threat to Nigeria
Ribadu, service chiefs hold emergency security meeting after Trump’s military threat to Nigeria National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu on Monday convened an emergency meeting with Nigeria’s service chiefs and heads of security and intelligence agencies at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in Abuja.
Although the agenda of the meeting was not officially disclosed, sources told The Northern Star, that it focused on coordinating a unified national security response and reviewing intelligence assessments following US President Donald Trump’s recent threat of possible military action in Nigeria.
Trump redesignated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” citing allegations of “Christian genocide” in the country.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria.
Thousands of Christians are being killed,” Trump declared, while directing the US Department of War to prepare for “possible action” to eliminate Islamic terrorists in Nigeria.
In a post on Truth Social, he warned the Nigerian government to act swiftly to stop the alleged “killing of Christians,” adding that he was not ruling out “air strikes or boots on the ground” to “completely wipe out Islamic terrorists.”
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed that his department was preparing for possible intervention should Nigeria fail to address the crisis.
Meanwhile, right-wing US lawmakers led by Senator Ted Cruz have continued to accuse Nigeria of religious persecution, with Cruz introducing the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025.
The proposed legislation seeks sanctions against Nigerian officials allegedly complicit in the “mass murder of Christians” or in enforcing Sharia and blasphemy laws.
The development has raised significant diplomatic and security concerns in Abuja, prompting Ribadu’s meeting with top military and intelligence chiefs to evaluate the implications of Trump’s statements and Nigeria’s possible response.