The Nigerian government has rejected claims by U.S. officials that thousands of Christians are being slaughtered in the country, describing the allegations as misleading and exaggerated.
Reacting to recent comments by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former President Donald Trump, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said such assertions distort the reality of Nigeria’s security challenges.
In a post on his official X handle on Saturday, Onanuga stated that there is no ongoing mass killing of Christians in Nigeria, as alleged by Rubio.
Onanuga wrote, “Dear Secretary Rubio, there is no ongoing slaughter of thousands of Christians in Nigeria. This is a gross exaggeration of the Nigerian situation.
“What we do have are sporadic attacks on some villages by bandits and terrorists, and the attacks are religiously insensitive. Christians, Muslims, churches, and mosques are attacked randomly”, he added.
Onanuga emphasized that Nigeria’s insecurity is not driven by religion, adding that both faith communities have suffered from violence.
“What our country requires from America is military support to fight these violent extremists in some states, not designation as a nation of particular concern,” he stressed.
In another post, he said: “Secretary Rubio, Muslim lives matter too”.
Rubio had earlier posted on X that “radical Islamists and Fulani ethnic militias” were responsible for an “ongoing slaughter of thousands of Christians” in Nigeria, calling the situation “tragic and unacceptable.”
His comments came shortly after the White House announced Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern over alleged religious freedom violations.
Trump, who also reacted to the issue, described the situation as “a genocide against believers,” claiming thousands of Christians were being killed by extremist groups in Nigeria.
However, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dismissed the U.S. designation as misleading and unfair, insisting that the country’s security crisis stems from criminality and banditry rather than religious persecution.
The ministry stressed that both Christians and Muslims have been victims of attacks, and reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to protecting the rights and freedoms of all faiths.
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