Why Trump is threatening to go 'guns a-blazing' into Nigeria

President Donald Trump has warned that he will target Nigeria if the government there "continues to allow the killing of Christians". For months, campaigners and politicians in Washington have been alleging that Islamist militants were systematically targeting Christians in Nigeria. But how true are the claims that there is a persecution – or even a genocide – of Christians in the West African country? And how does Nicki Minaj come to thank him for his intervention?

We speak to the BBC’s global religion correspondent, Lebo Diseko. Producers: Xandra Ellin and Cat Farnsworth

Executive producer: Annie Brown

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: People walk along a street flanked by St. Joseph Catholic Church and Kano Road Central Mosque in Kaduna, Nigeria, 4 November, 2025. Credit: Marvellous Durowaiye/Reuters)