Prominent Nigerians have condemned the claim by U.S. President Donald Trump and some American lawmakers that a “Christian genocide” is taking place in Nigeria, describing it as misleading, divisive, and dangerous to the country’s sovereignty.
Former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, said President Trump was “misinformed by anarchists, lackeys and apprentices of neocolonialism” seeking to profit from division and discontent.
Sani argued that the security crisis in Nigeria is not rooted in religion, saying on his X handle, “The designation of Nigeria is founded on outright falsehoods and wholesale misinformation. Terrorists and bandits in Nigeria kill and kidnap their victims irrespective of their religious beliefs. The records are self-evident in the last 15 years.”
“Looking at the Muslim/Christian ratio in Nigeria, it’s technically impossible for one faith to persecute another. Nigeria is a Lion and Tiger situation, not a Lion and Zebra configuration. Trump was misinformed by anarchists, lackeys, and apprentices of neo-colonialism who aimed to benefit from their seeds of division, divisiveness, and discontent. This particular weapon raised against this country shall never prosper. Nigeria, like all nations battling terrorism, needs support and assistance to tackle its security challenges.”
US ‘Funding Terrorists’ – Kawu
Citizen Kawu Garba accused the United States of hypocrisy, alleging that it was indirectly aiding insurgent groups in Nigeria.
“If you are wondering where Boko Haram terrorists are getting dollars and sophisticated weapons in Sambisa forest in Nigeria, the answer is here. Listen to this video as a US member of the representative speaks. It’s the US that is funding them,” he wrote on X, posting a video of a U.S. lawmaker making the claim.
Similarly, Imran U. Wakili warned that Nigerians promoting the “Christian genocide” narrative were empowering foreign powers to interfere.
“Most of you supporting this so called ‘Christian Agenda’ because you don’t like Tinubu, I want to tell you what you don’t know, you are giving the West what they desperately need, a reason to destabilise Nigeria,” he wrote on his X account @IU_Wakilii.
He cautioned that such claims could jeopardize Nigeria’s ability to secure military support, warning, “Before you know it, they will send their troops into Nigeria in the name of ‘trying to help’, further causing more commotion. In no time, Nigeria will become a failed state, then boom, we are another Sudan, Libya or Syria”.
Ndume Urges Diplomatic Engagement
Former Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, urged the Federal Government to urgently engage the U.S. government to correct misconceptions about Nigeria’s religious situation.
“I had alerted the government, I even moved a motion. Nigeria is a sovereign state. It’s not about what the United States can do to us, but about the misconception and the ripple effects of classifying us as a country of concern,” Ndume said in a statement in Abuja.
He advised the Tinubu administration to involve seasoned diplomats in the dialogue. “Before things get out of hand, Nigeria should engage experienced diplomats. The good thing about America is that if they know the truth, they will stick to it,” he said.
TMSG Faults US Action
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) described the U.S. position as “ill-conceived, misleading, and fatally flawed.”
Its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, said in a statement that the move was a “gross mischaracterization and oversimplification” of Nigeria’s security challenges.
“It is a fact that the U.S. action could lead to the suspension of arms sales to Nigeria. Such a move would embolden terrorist elements and weaken ongoing counter-insurgency operations,” they said.
TMSG noted that President Tinubu’s security sector reforms had placed Christians in key leadership positions across military and intelligence agencies, proving there was no state-sponsored persecution.
“It therefore amounts to standing truth on its head to peddle claims that state-sponsored Christian genocide exists in Nigeria,” the group said.
TMSG urged Nigerians to remain vigilant, stressing that the federal government should not be distracted in its mission to restore peace and stability across the country.
