The Federal Government on Friday promised to empower the Nigerian Armed Forces to subdue the security challenges bedevilling the country.
Vice President Kashim Shettima reaffirmed the firm resolve of President Bola Tinubu during a special Jumma’a Prayer at the National Mosque, Abuja, ahead of the 2026 Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day.
January 15 is set aside annually by the FG to honour the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN).
The nation’s armed forces recently renamed the January 15 observance as Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day, replacing the former Armed Forces Remembrance Day, with a view to reflecting its dual purpose of honouring serving personnel, while remembering fallen heroes.
While speaking during the prayer, Shettima acknowledged the sacrifices of the fallen soldiers who paid the supreme price to safeguard Nigeria’s territorial integrity, as well as the lives and properties of the citizens.
FG’s reaffirmation of its commitment to tackling the security challenges in the country followed a renewed threat by President of the United States, Donald Trump, who warned of potential further air strikes if what he termed as attacks on Christians continue.
Trump said there could be more strikes by the U.S. in Nigeria if Christians are killed, even as FG has previously denied that Christians are subjected to systematic persecution, Reuters quoted Trump as saying this in an interview with the New York Times.
Trump made the remarks when asked about Washington’s Christmas Day military strike in Nigeria.
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The U.S. military had said at the time it carried out a strike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria’s government.
Nigeria said then that the strike was a “joint operation” targeting “terrorists,” and had “nothing to do with a particular religion.”
“I’d love to make it a one-time strike … But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike,” Trump was quoted as saying.
When asked about his own Africa adviser, having said that Islamic State and Boko Haram militants were killing more Muslims than Christians, Trump responded: “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians.”
Trump, in late October, began warning that Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria and threatened to militarily intervene over what he said was its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
While Nigeria has had persistent security problems, including violence and kidnappings by Islamist insurgents in the north, the Federal Government has strongly denied that Christians are subjected to systematic persecution.
FG noted that militants have killed many Muslims as well as Christians.
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