Soludo Rejects Trump’s Threat to Invade Nigeria, Says Killings in the East Are Not Religious

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has dismissed remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to invade Nigeria over the alleged genocide of Christians, stating that the killings in the country’s eastern region are not driven by religion.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics program, monitored in Awka, Soludo argued that the violence in parts of the Southeast was rooted in local criminality, not religious persecution. He criticized what he described as America’s “simplistic framing” of Nigeria’s complex security situation.

“What are you coming to Nigeria to do?” Soludo asked rhetorically. “To beat the policeman, the government, or take over policing? In the East, it is not religious. People are killing themselves — Christians killing Christians. The people in the bushes are Emmanuel, Peter, John — all Christian names. They have maimed and killed thousands of our youths. It has nothing to do with religion.”

The comments came after President Trump, in a statement earlier this week, announced that the United States had redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over ongoing killings and persecution of Christians. Trump also threatened to suspend aid to Nigeria and take military action if the government continued to “tolerate” the violence.

Soludo said while the U.S. has the right to express concern about international human rights issues, any intervention must be guided by international law and diplomatic principles.

“America, as a country, has its rights to have its own views about what goes on elsewhere,” he said. “But it must also act within the realm of international law. There is, however, a deeper conversation Nigeria must have about what truly goes on here.”

He emphasized that the Nigerian government bears the responsibility to protect lives and property but maintained that external threats were not the solution.

“If Nigeria requests assistance in terms of military technology or hardware to deal with insurgency, then it is within Nigeria’s call,” the governor said. “Otherwise, it must end in dialogue. Nigeria will overcome.”

Soludo also drew a comparison with America’s domestic challenges, referencing police brutality and the Black Lives Matter protests, arguing that no nation is free of internal contradictions.

“You have policemen killing blacks in America. During the Black Lives Matter protests, people were killed. Should Africa then invade the United States because blacks are being killed? That’s how I see it,” he stated.

The governor urged the Federal Government to issue a “robust response” to Trump’s remarks, insisting that Nigeria’s sovereignty and efforts to combat insecurity must be respected.

“Nigeria is a big country. The government is doing a lot to safeguard the people. We must respond with facts, not emotions,” he added.

According to Soludo, the Southeast, where Christians make up about 95 percent of the population, cannot be described as a region facing religious genocide.

“In this part of the country, we are almost all Christians,” he said. “Those carrying out attacks are also Christians by name. It is a criminal and political problem, not a religious one.”

Background: U.S. Concerns on Religious Freedom

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has repeatedly called for Nigeria to be designated a CPC due to what it describes as the government’s failure to protect citizens from extremist violence.

In its July 2025 report, the commission accused Nigerian authorities of tolerating violence by non-state actors and enforcing blasphemy laws that restrict freedom of belief in some northern states. Nigeria was first listed as a CPC in December 2020, but the designation was removed a year later under the Biden administration — a decision widely criticized by human rights advocates.

USCIRF’s latest recommendations prompted the Trump administration to reinstate the designation, citing attacks on Christian and Muslim communities by Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Fulani militias.

While human rights groups welcomed the move, Soludo’s comments highlight growing tension between U.S. foreign policy narratives and local realities in Nigeria’s diverse regions.

“It must end in conversation,” Soludo concluded. “Nigeria will overcome, but our solutions must come from within.”