Alleged genocide: US military weighing 3 options for possible attack in Nigeria – Report
THE United States military has drawn up and submitted contingency plans for possible strikes in Nigeria, in line with President Donald Trump’s directive to the Pentagon to prepare for intervention over alleged Christian persecution Nigeria.
According to The New York Times, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) submitted the plans to the Department of War following a directive from Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The newspaper cited military sources who revealed that three operational options, heavy, medium, and light, were proposed, each outlining varying levels of engagement in Nigeria.
It stated that the heavy option, the most aggressive of the three, would entail deploying an aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf of Guinea to launch fighter jets or long-range bombers against militant targets deep within northern Nigeria.
The medium option proposes the use of drone strikes employing MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1 Predator drones to target militant camps, convoys, and vehicles.
These drones, capable of remaining airborne for extended periods, would depend on US intelligence to carry out precise attacks.
Meanwhile, the light option, according to the plan, emphasises joint operations with Nigerian forces through intelligence sharing, logistical support, and coordinated efforts against Boko Haram and other insurgent groups responsible for attacks, abductions, and bombings.
The report noted that Pentagon officials acknowledged privately that limited airstrikes or drone missions would be insufficient to resolve Nigeria’s complex insurgency without a full-scale campaign akin to those in Iraq or Afghanistan, but the US deemed such an operation too costly and politically unpopular in Washington.
This is coming days after Trump added Nigeria to countries on watchlist for Christian genocide.
He insisted that Christianity was facing an existential threat in Nigeria, alleging that thousands of Christians were being killed by radical Islamists.
The following day, Trump warned he would consider military action against Nigeria if the country failed to curb alleged killings of Christians.
Other nations on the list include China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.
Trump said that the American military could deploy ground troops or launch air strikes in Nigeria to halt what he described as the widespread killing of Christians in the West African nation.
The conversation started last month, when US lawmaker Riley Moore had urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take diplomatic action over “systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians” in Nigeria, calling it “the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian.”
He also advocated suspending arms sales to Nigeria until measurable progress was made in curbing violence.
However, President Bola Tinubu said Nigeria stood firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and continued to maintain open engagement with both Christian and Muslim leaders across the country.
He argued that the portrayal of Nigeria as religiously intolerant did not reflect the reality in the country, adding that the government’s efforts to safeguard freedom of belief for all Nigerians remained consistent and sincere.
China has likewise voiced its support for Nigeria, condemning Trump’s threat as “an interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.”
Despite Trump’s remarks, analysts and former US military officers like Paul Eaton, have cautioned against any strike in Nigeria, warning that it could further destabilise the region.
Eaton told The New York Times that the plan was “a fiasco waiting to happen,” adding that “bombing northern Nigeria would be like pounding a pillow, it would cause chaos but solve nothing.”
