The Federal Government of Nigeria has formally rejected the decision by the United States to reinstate Nigeria on its list of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC), a designation for nations accused of severe violations of religious freedom.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, argued that the security challenges facing the country are not targeted at any specific ethnic or religious group, stressing that the opposing narrative are baseless claims of influencers and foreign lobbyists.
Nigeria, a country roughly split between a predominantly Christian south and a Muslim-majority north, has been battling persistent security crises, including the Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgency and conflicts between armed herders and farmers. The violence has resulted in thousands of deaths across various communities.
The U.S. first placed Nigeria on the CPC list in 2020 but removed it in 2021. The latest decision to re-designate the country follows a threat from the U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly warned of potential U.S. strikes if alleged killings of Christians were not stopped.
Nigerian officials strongly deny the claim of a systematic “Christian genocide,” arguing that all citizens, regardless of faith, are victims of non-state criminal and terrorist groups.
During a press briefing in Abuja, Minister Idris Malagi strongly defended the position of the country, stressing that the security system is designed to protect all citizens, regardless of their background.
The policing system and the security agencies will not in any way, because someone is in the minority, say he’s not going to be provided security or he’s not going to be protected by the security agencies – Idris
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, called the claim of systematic killings of Christians untrue and based on false information.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria, though a Muslim, is a known ‘moderate’, whose wife is a pastor of one of the biggest Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria and most of his children are practising Christians – Keyamo
However, U.S. President Trump had warned that if the Nigerian government failed to end the alleged killings, the United States would launch strikes that would be “fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs who attack our cherished Christians”. The Nigerian government suggested that political opponents who lost elections are also pushing the negative narrative in the U.S.
The government has appealed to the U.S. to focus on supporting its anti-terrorism efforts rather than relying on what it terms distorted reports.
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