Former Niger Delta militant leader Asari Dokubo has warned that he and his followers would take up arms if the United States (US) deploys troops to Nigeria to "protect Christians," saying any foreign soldiers sent on such a mission "will be killed and buried on Nigerian soil."
Speaking during a Facebook Live session on Sunday night, Asari dismissed claims that violence in Nigeria is exclusively targeted at Christians, saying "more Muslims have died in Nigeria than Christians."
He described the bloodletting as "a group of evil people killing evil people" and warned that remarks by US President Donald Trump could provoke greater confrontation.
"Asari said Nigerians would prove whether they have the weaponry to confront foreign forces. We would finish this, the world is watching. The monopoly by one group of people is gone. We have entered an empire where everybody’s eyes is open….maybe Trump is the corona for the fall of the American empire. This man just stands up, when he wakes up he just says whatever he likes. Are we talking of Muslims? Am I not a Muslim?… I plan to fight America… Let them come, Nigeria will be your graveyard," he said.
The comments come amid growing international attention to intercommunal and organised violence in parts of Nigeria and calls from some foreign figures for stronger action to protect victims.
Asari Dokubo, a controversial figure who led a militant movement in the Niger Delta in the early 2000s and later entered mainstream politics, has in recent years remained a vocal commentator on national security and ethnic issues.
There was no immediate response from the United States embassy in Abuja or from the Nigerian government to Asari’s remarks at the time of publication.
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