President Donald Trump took Nigeria to task Monday for allowing “religious violence” — particularly against Christians — in the country when he urged that nation’s President Muhammadu Buhari to take action as the two leaders met at the White House.
Nigerian Christians and other religious minorities have long faced persecution and terrorism at the hands of the Fulani people, a militant tribe of herdsmen in the country, as well as Boko Haram, a radical Muslim terrorist group.
Thousands of Nigerian Christians have been killed throughout Nigeria in recent years. BBC Monitoring research found that Boko Haram killed more than 900 people in 2017. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies found that 60,000 Nigerians have been killed during Fulani attacks since 2001.
More recently, the Fulani killed 19 Christians earlier in April — including two priests — during a Mass in Nigeria’s Benue State.
Trump broached the topic of anti-Christian persecution and terrorism during his meeting with Buhari, who was born to Fulani parents, and urged his Nigerian counterpart to join the U.S. in “working on that problem very, very hard.”
“We’ve had very serious problems with Christians who have been murdered, killed in Nigeria,” Trump told reporters inside the White House while sitting next to Buhari. “We’re going to be working on that problem and working on that problem very, very hard, because we can’t allow that to happen.”
While addressing reporters outside in the Rose Garden with Buhari, Trump reiterated his opposition to the persecution and terrorism.
“Finally, we are deeply concerned by religious violence in Nigeria, including the burning of churches and the killing and persecution of Christians. It’s a horrible story,” Trump said.
“We encourage Nigeria and the federal state and local leaders to do everything in their power to immediately secure the affected communities and to protect innocent civilians of all faiths, including Muslims and Christians,” Trump continued.
Trump emphasized that Nigeria is “a valued partner and a good friend” to the United States even as he urged Buhari to take religious persecution and violence seriously and map out an appropriate response.
“I look forward to working closely with you to deepen our cooperation and forge an even closer partnership,” Trump told Buhari. “The United States is committed to working alongside Nigeria as we seek a future of strength, prosperity, and peace for both of our countries.”
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For his own part, Buhari thanked the U.S. for being “to date the biggest contributor to the humanitarian response” in Nigeria” and pledged to continue to work with Trump on addressing the humanitarian crises and religious persecution.
“The government of Nigeria remains deeply committed to the principles of human rights, as well as for … protection of people’s freedoms, even in the process of fighting terror,” Buhari said. “We commit to ensure that all documented cases of human rights abuses are investigated and those responsible for violations held responsible.”
PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.
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