Prominent Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to cut diplomatic relations with the United States if President Donald Trump fails to withdraw his recent threat of military action against Nigeria.
Trump had on Friday redesignated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” alleging a Christian genocide in the country. He later intensified his stance, warning that “the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country ‘guns-a-blazing’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists killing Christians.”
Following his remarks, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated that the department was already preparing for possible military operations should Nigeria fail to address the alleged killings of Christians.
A number of right-wing US lawmakers, led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, have long accused the Nigerian government of tolerating religious persecution. In October, Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, seeking to sanction officials allegedly complicit in attacks on Christians.
Reacting to the development, Gumi in a statement on Sunday described Trump’s comments as a grave insult to Nigeria’s sovereignty and urged Tinubu to take a firm stand.
“For Trump to threaten a sovereign country with military attack is a profound disrespect to our authority, but we can rise above it,” Gumi wrote.
He added, “President Tinubu should summon the US ambassador; they either retract their threats or we sever diplomatic ties with this irresponsible regime. There are many other nations we can build economic and military alliances with.”
