Former Deputy Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States, Hassan Mohammed, has strongly challenged recent remarks by Donald Trump in which the former U.S. President threatened Nigeria with possible military strikes or invasion over alleged failures on religious freedom. Mohammed said that while the U.S. does have mechanisms under its 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) to exert pressure, it does not have a lawful right to declare war or deploy military force over such matters.

In an interview with ARISE News on Monday night, Mohammed recalled that Nigeria had been listed under the Act in 2001 and 2002, but the issues then were resolved through dialogue rather than threats of force. He said:

“What is worrying in the pronouncements so far is the fact that President Trump threatened to punish Nigeria in terms of war or strikes, or invasion. This has never happened before.”

According to Mohammed, the IRFA is designed to promote fairness, accountability and improvements in religious-liberty practices, not to serve as a pretext for aggression. “There is nothing in the Act that gives the United States the right to declare war on a nation because of religious violations,” he said. He added that the U.S. motivation behind the threat may reveal other considerations yet to become clear.

The controversy comes amid intensified scrutiny of Nigeria’s security and human-rights environment. On 1 November 2025, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that, “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. 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 who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

In response, Nigeria’s government has rejected the characterization of state-endorsed religious persecution, with Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar stating it is “impossible” under Nigeria’s constitution for the government to support religious persecution. Moreover, research data indicates that terrorist attacks in Nigeria have not singled out Christians alone, and in fact both Christians and Muslims are victims of violence—undermining claims of a targeted “Christian genocide.”

Mohammed’s remarks reflect a broader unease within Nigeria and the diplomatic community about the legitimacy, motives and consequences of the U.S. threat. He argued that such statements may escalate tensions, undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty, and distract from the root causes of the country’s security challenges, which he and others believe are far more complex than simple religious targeting.