Pramila Jayapal, a member of the United States House of Representatives, has criticised President Donald Trump’s handling of allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria, describing his approach as misguided and incomplete.

Trump had recently placed Nigeria back on the list of “countries of particular concern” and warned that the U.S. military could intervene “guns-a-blazing to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

But during a congressional hearing on Thursday in Washington, D.C., Jayapal challenged that narrative.

She argued that framing the situation solely as Christian persecution was “simplistic” and failed to recognise Nigeria’s “intersectional diversity” and the complex factors driving violence across the country.

“Certainly, religion is a contributing factor to the violence, but a review by the Search for Common Ground found that in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, religion was not a primary driver of conflict,” she said.

“Instead, violence has been directed against both Christians and Muslims, regardless of religion, at the hands of armed terror groups like Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa, or fuelled by differences in lifestyle between farmer and herder groups compounded by climate change and governance issues.

“And so, I want to start by saying I’m very concerned that a day after President Trump saw a clip on Fox News about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, he threatened to go ‘guns-a-blazing’ in Nigeria and revoke all assistance.

“Can you tell me under what authority would the US military strike inside of Nigeria?” Jayapal asked Jonathan Pratt, a senior official at the US state department’s Bureau of African Affairs, who was a witness on the panel.

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Pratt earlier revealed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had instructed the department to develop a joint action plan with the Nigerian government to address the problem.

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“The secretary of state has directed us to put together a comprehensive plan that uses all tools at our disposal, including security and the Department of War, and this would be primarily focused on the security that we are providing to the government of Nigeria and how they are deploying their assets,” Pratt replied the congresswoman.

“We can also share information and intelligence. We can talk about counterterrorism. And so those are the tools that we are primarily looking at in our strategy.”

Jayapal pressed Pratt on why those measures were not deployed as the initial response, to which he replied that the State Department had long been engaged in efforts to address insecurity in Nigeria.

She added that adjusting the approach was necessary to ensure the most effective results.

“I just wish we would actually stick to that playbook rather than a bully and threaten of a country that is extremely important to us and to the region,” Jayapal said.

“I don’t think that’s the right way to go, to just go on Truth Social and threaten ‘guns-a-blazing’. I think what you’ve described is much more appropriate.”

At the hearing, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs described Trump’s threat to use military force in Nigeria as reckless.

She emphasised that Congress had not approved such action and warned that any unilateral move without Nigeria’s consent would breach international law.