Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine planned to meet with Nigeria’s national security adviser Thursday night, following President Donald Trump’s threats to send U.S. troops into the country with “firearms” to “take down Islamic terrorists” who he said were killing Christians.
The meeting, confirmed by two defense officials, was not included in Hegseth’s or Caine’s public schedules, and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu’s arrival at the Pentagon was not open to the press.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth looks on during a meeting with President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Nov. 18, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
The Defense Department, which Hegseth now refers to as the War Department, also did not respond to questions about what the group planned to discuss and whether the military would change its stance in Africa, which military officials have long warned has become a global hotbed of extremist terrorism.
Earlier this month, Trump ordered the Defense Department to prepare for possible “swift” military action in Nigeria if the government there did not do more to prevent the killing of Christians. The violence in Nigeria had been the focus of extensive coverage by Fox News and the Christian political right, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Virginia.
Independent crisis monitoring groups, including the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, say tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Nigeria in recent years, but say the figure represents both Muslims and Christians.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump wrote on November 1: “If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the United States will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well enter that now-disgraced country, ‘with guns,’ to completely eliminate the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities. I hereby instruct our War Department to prepare for possible action. If we strike, it will be swift, cruel and sweet, al just like terrorist thugs attack our dear Christians WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!
Hegseth quickly responded to Trump’s post with a “Yes, sir,” adding that “the War Department is preparing for action.”
Trump also put Nigeria back on a list of countries the United States says have violated religious freedom.
The Nigerian government has rejected the designation as a “country of particular concern.” Officials there say the accusation that it fails to protect groups of people because of their religious beliefs was based on misinformation and faulty data.
President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House, Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said that “the characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into account the government’s consistent and sincere efforts to safeguard the freedom of religion and belief of all Nigerians.”
Sending US ground troops to Nigeria would pose significant logistical and security challenges, due to Nigeria’s remote terrain, porous borders and a population that would likely bristle at a foreign presence. There are 6,500 military personnel deployed across Africa, primarily focused on counterterrorism missions. But the only staff in Nigeria are embassy staff with no persistent troop presence in West Africa or the Sahel region, which the military warns is a hotbed of extremism.
Carrying out drone strikes in West Africa could also be logistically difficult, given that the United States was forced to abandon counterterrorism bases in neighboring Niger after a military coup there.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jacob McGee suggested to a reporter that “frank conversations” with Nigerian officials were having the desired impact.
“I think President Trump’s bold move to label Nigeria a country of particular concern was welcomed by almost all religious and civil society activist groups, and has caught the attention of Nigerian officials. So, we are having frank conversations,” McGee said.
According to Rep. Moore, a Nigerian delegation also met with lawmakers at the Capitol this week.
“I made it very clear that the United States must take tangible steps to ensure that Christians are not subject to violence, persecution, displacement, and death simply for believing in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Moore said in a statement.
ABC’s Mariam Khan contributed to this report.
