WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has submitted contingency plans for potential strikes on Nigeria following a directive from President Donald Trump to prepare for possible action over Christian genocide, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
According to the report, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) drew up and sent the options to the Department of War this week at the request of Secretary Pete Hegseth. The plans outline three possible responses: “heavy,” “medium,” and “light,” each designed to allow for a controlled escalation.
Military officials told The New York Times that the “heavy option” represents the most forceful course of action. It includes sending an aircraft carrier group to the Gulf of Guinea and deploying fighter jets or long-range bombers to strike targets deep inside northern Nigeria.
For the “medium option,” AFRICOM proposed limited drone strikes on militant camps, convoys, and bases in the country’s north, using U.S. Predator and Reaper drones capable of loitering for hours while tracking targets. The “light option” would centre on partner-enabled operations, with the U.S. military and State Department supporting Nigerian forces in targeting Boko Haram and other Islamist insurgents.
Officials said the goal of the plans is to protect Christian communities from armed attacks and end decades of insurgency in Nigeria.
Last week, President Trump threatened military action against Nigeria, accusing President Bola Tinubu’s administration of allowing “the mass slaughter of Christians.” He also designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and suspended all arms sales and technical support to the country.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” Trump said. “The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening there. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world.”
The Nigerian government has denied allegations of genocide, insisting that violence in the country’s north and middle belt is complex and not defined by religion. Conflicts in those regions often stem from land disputes and ethnic tensions, while jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP have attacked both Muslims and Christians.
In 2017, at least 50 people were killed when a bomb exploded in a mosque in Mubi, Adamawa State, and in 2018, a double suicide bombing in another mosque in the state killed 86.
Experts have warned that U.S. military action in Nigeria could be disastrous. “It would be a fiasco,” retired Army General Paul Eaton, a veteran of the Iraq war, told The New York Times. He compared the potential intervention to “pounding a pillow,” saying such strikes would cause “shock and confusion rather than quell the conflict.”
Military officials also acknowledged several challenges in implementing the “heavy option,” including the U.S. limited carrier capacity. The Gerald R. Ford, one of America’s largest aircraft carriers, is being moved from Europe to the southern Caribbean for anti-drug operations, while others are deployed in the Pacific and Middle East or undergoing maintenance.
The feasibility of drone strikes is similarly constrained by geography. The U.S. no longer has drone bases in Agadez and Niamey, Niger, the closest launch points to Nigeria, following its withdrawal in August.
As the Department of War weighs its options, analysts have cautioned that any form of military action could deepen instability in West Africa rather than resolve it.
