Olushola Omogbehin
Naira and equities fell sharply on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against the country over what he called the failure of government to stop the killing of Christians by Islamist militants.
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, naira which had traded at a 2025 peak of N1,421.73/$, depreciated to N1,436.34/$ on Monday, marking a 1.03 per cent decline or N14.61 loss in a day.
Naira also weakened at the parallel market to N1,455/$, showing increased investor anxiety and foreign-exchange demand pressure.
This depreciation is a follow up to the threat by Donald Trump to cut aid and consider military action if the Nigerian government does not stop the killings of Christians by Islamist militants.
In a post via his Truth Social platform, Trump had labelled Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” and directed the US Department of War to prepare for “possible action” should alleged killings of Christians persist.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, “guns-a-blazing,” to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities. I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
Trump’s post was a reaction to what he described as a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, which earlier sparked global debate and uncertainty about diplomatic and economic implications for the giant of Africa.
The selloff did not slow. Nigeria’s currency also weakened, with the naira dropping 1.2% to ₦1,442.80 per dollar, marking its sharpest intraday decline since June and the largest fall among emerging market currencies Monday.
Punch reports that the development quickly rippled through financial markets. At the Nigerian Exchange Limited, bearish trading resumed on Monday as the All-Share Index dropped by 0.25 per cent to close at 153,739.11 points, trimming year-to-date gains to 49.37 per cent. Market capitalisation declined by N245.88 billion, settling at N97.58tn.
The downturn according to the report was largely driven by selloffs in Aradel Holdings (-9.21 per cent) and Access Corporation (-3.07 per cent). Investor sentiment remained weak, with 38 stocks declining against 19 gainers. Union Dicon emerged as the top gainer (+9.93 per cent), while Honeywell Flour Mills led the losers (-10.00 per cent).
Trading activity also slowed sharply, as total volume and value traded plunged 87.94 per cent and 44.64 per cent, respectively, to 627.5 million units worth N25bn. United Bank for Africa dominated the session, accounting for 136.8 million units (21.8 per cent of total volume) valued at N5.5bn (22.2 per cent of total value).
The response of President Tinubu did not reverse US sentiment as traders working dollar-denominated government debt in London, New York, reported heavy early-session selling, particularly in longer-dated maturities.
A 1.2% move in a single day is notable in a sovereign FX market, especially given the tight liquidity conditions Nigeria has faced. The fall reflected both local uncertainty and a broader retreat from EM currency Monday.
