Thousands rallied in Kano, northern Nigeria, on Saturday to denounce US President Donald Trump’s threats to launch military strikes against the country.
The demonstrations erupted after Trump accused Nigeria’s government of permitting a “Christian genocide” and warned that Washington might act “guns-a-blazing” to defend Christian communities.
Protesters, led by several Islamic organisations, filled the streets of Kano carrying placards reading, “We condemn Trump’s threat to attack Nigeria,” and “America wants to control our resources.”
Participants rejected Trump’s assertions, calling them false and inflammatory. They said the US president’s rhetoric risked worsening sectarian divides in a nation already burdened by complex internal conflicts.
On Nov. 1, Trump announced he had instructed the Pentagon to prepare military options against what he called terrorist networks targeting Christians in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s government firmly dismissed the allegations, describing them as unfounded and politically motivated. “There cannot be religious persecution supported in any form by the Nigerian state,” said Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar.
He added that Nigeria’s federal, regional, and local authorities uphold religious equality, calling Trump’s claims “impossible and misleading.”
Nigeria continues to battle multiple security challenges involving Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), ethnic militias, and armed criminal groups. Analysts say these conflicts stem from poverty, inequality, and competition over land and resources rather than religious persecution.
For many in Kano, the protests reflected both defiance and unity — a collective demand that their nation not be defined by external narratives or threatened from afar.
