Kano Residents Protest Against US President’s Military Threat, Insist ‘There is No Christian Genocide in Nigeria’

Hundreds of residents of Kano City, the commercial and cultural heart of Northern Nigeria, took to the streets today, Saturday, November 8, 2025, to stage a massive protest against the recent threats of military action against Nigeria issued by the US President.

The demonstrations, spearheaded by numerous Islamic groups and residents of the predominantly Muslim state, served as a powerful rebuke of the US President’s decision to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) and his subsequent warning that the US would “go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing'” if the government failed to curb violence against Christians.

Protesters, visible across major arteries of the ancient city, carried placards condemning the foreign threat and disputing the premise of the US interventionist rhetoric. Key messages displayed included “We condemn Trump’s threat to attack Nigeria,” and the pointed assertion, “There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria.” A widespread sentiment expressed was the belief that the US was using the security crisis as a pretext, captured by placards reading: “America wants to control our resources.”

The demonstration follows the US President’s social media post on November 1, 2025, where he declared that he had instructed the Pentagon to develop options for possible military measures against terrorist groups in Nigeria. He warned that if the Nigerian government “continues to allow the killing of Christians,” Washington would immediately cut all aid.

Nigerian Government Rejects Claims

The official reaction from Abuja has been equally firm. Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar rejected the US claims, maintaining that there is no systemic or supported religious persecution in Nigeria.

“There cannot be religious persecution that can be supported in any way, shape, or form by the government of Nigeria,” Tuggar stated. He explained that Nigeria’s security challenge is complex, stemming from a mix of terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP, ethnic militias, and socio-economic conflicts between farmers and herders that affect both Christian and Muslim communities.

The massive and unified protest in Kano underscores the widespread nationalistic backlash against the perception of foreign interference and the rejection of the US President’s attempt to categorize Nigeria’s complex security crisis as a simple Christian-Muslim conflict.