President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Nov. 1 to announce that he has instructed "our Department of War to prepare for possible action" against the Nigerian government over "the killing of Christians."

In addition to immediately stopping all aid and assistance to Nigeria, per Trump's post, he said the U.S. military may go into Nigeria with "guns-a-blazing" to "completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities."

"If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!" Trump concluded his post.

Trump's warning comes after he on Oct. 31 accused Nigeria of religious freedom violations, saying that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria," subsequently designating the nation as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act, CNN and The Associated Press reported.

The president's labeling is a suggestion that his administration has discovered proof that Nigeria has engaged or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, (and) egregious violations of religious freedom," according to the outlets.

Nigeria's president responds to Trump's designation

Following Trump's designation, but before his mention of military involvement, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wrote in a post on X on Nov. 1: “The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.”

"Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so," Tinubu's post continued. "Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths."

Tinubu said Nigeria's administration is "committed to working with the United States government and the international community to deepen understanding and cooperation on [the] protection of communities of all faiths."

Tinubu's administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'A gross exaggeration'

When responding to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who, in a social media post, condemned the “slaughter of thousands of Christians," Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s press secretary, called the characterization “a gross exaggeration of the Nigerian situation,” adding that “Christians, Muslims, churches and mosques are attacked randomly."

“What our country requires from America is military support to fight these violent extremists in some states of our country, not designation as a nation of particular concern,” Onanuga said in his response X post.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump threatens possible military action in Nigeria over the 'killing of Christians'

Reporting by Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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