‘No Christian, Muslim is persecuted in Nigeria’, FG replies US senators

The Federal Government denounced on Monday the request by five US Republican Senators to redesignate Nigeria as a country of special concern due to alleged persecution of Christians.

The Senators who made the appeal in a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said that Christians’ freedom to worship their religion had been violated.

In response to the claim, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in London that the call was based on a faulty premise and misunderstanding of what was going on in the nation.

According to NAN, the minister is in London for meetings with foreign media and non-governmental organizations.

“You will recall that only few months ago Nigeria was taken out of the list of countries of particular concern because it was proven that there is no iota of truth in the allegation that Christians or any religion was being persecuted or people were not allowed to practice religion of their choice,

‘We want to say once again that Nigeria does not have a policy that denies people the freedom to practice their religion

“The country also does not have a policy of violation freedom of religion and it is not true that Nigeria persecutes anybody on account of his or her faith,” he said.

Mohammed stated that the Nigerian Constitution ensures the freedom of everyone to follow his or her own faith without harassment and that the government has always closely defended the constitutional provision.


He claimed that most pundits who were unfamiliar with Nigerian politics and events mistook criminalities and communal confrontations for religious persecution.

“Nobody in Nigeria is being persecuted But we have issues of criminality going on and the criminals really do not make distinction of any religion.

“They kidnap for money, they hold people for ransom irrespective of their religion and there are some issues pf communal matters dating back to many years.

“If statistic is to be taken, I can say confidently that as many Muslims as Christians have been victims of these criminals,” he said.

According to the minister, the only known group that targeted Christians was the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (SWAP)

He, however, said that the federal government had mounted large-scale military operations to wipe out the criminals and it is yielding results.

“What ISWAP is doing is that because of their dwindling influence, they are now attacking Churches and Christians in order to create a crisis between various religious groups.

“But as a government, we are after them,” he said.

According to the minister, some NGOs were also providing false information to the world community in order to obtain cash from donors.

Mohammed reaffirmed that Nigeria’s two largest religions, Islam and Christianity, are also working together to find a solution to the situation and restore peace and quiet.

He cited the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), which works to promote harmony and understanding between the Christian and Islamic religions.

In order to address the difficulties of insecurity, the minister sought assistance from multilateral organizations and international governments.