Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine planned to meet with Nigeria’s national security adviser on Thursday evening, following President Donald Trump’s threats to send U.S. troops into the country with “guns-a-blazing” to “wipe out the Islamic Terrorists” he said were killing Christians.
The meeting, confirmed by two defense officials, was not included on Hegseth or Caine’s public schedules, and the arrival of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu 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 at the White House in Washington, November 18, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
The Defense Department, which Hegseth now refers to as the Department of War, also did not answer questions about what the group planned to discuss and whether the military would change its posture in Africa, which military officials have long warned has become the world’s hotbed for extremist terrorism.
Earlier this month, Trump ordered the Defense Department to prepare for possible “fast” military action in Nigeria if the government there didn’t 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. Va.
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 tally represents both Muslims and Christians.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump wrote on Nov. 1, “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. I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
Hegseth quickly responded to Trump’s post with a “Yes sir,” adding “the Department of War is preparing for action.”
Trump also put Nigeria back on a list of countries that the U.S. says have violated religious freedom.
Nigeria’s government has rejected the designation as a “country of particular concern.” Officials there say the allegation that it’s not protecting groups of people because of their religious beliefs was based on misinformation and faulty data.
President Donald Trump meets 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
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said “the characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.”
Sending U.S. ground troops into Nigeria would pose significant logistical and security challenges, due to Nigeria’s remote terrain, porous borders and a population likely to bristle at a foreign presence. There are 6,500 military personnel deployed across Africa, primarily focused on counterterrorism missions. But the only personnel in Nigeria are embassy staff with no persistent presence of troops in West Africa or the Sahel region, which military warns is a hotbed for extremism.
Conducting drone attacks in West Africa also could be logistically difficult, given that the U.S. was forced to vacate counterterrorism bases in neighboring Niger after a military coup there.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jacob McGee suggested to reporter that the “frank conversations” with Nigerian officials was having the desired impact.
“I think President Trump’s bold action to actually label Nigeria a country of particular concern was welcomed by almost across the board civil society and religious activist groups, and it’s gotten Nigerian officials’ attention. So, we’re having frank conversations,” McGee said.
A Nigerian delegation also met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week, according to Rep. Moore.
“I made it crystal clear that the United States must see 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.
