Former senator representing Sokoto East Senatorial Zone, Engr. Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir, has criticised the United States for promoting what he described as misleading allegations of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.

He also faulted Nigeria’s designation as a country of particular concern over religious persecution, describing the label as inaccurate and harmful.

Gobir, in an interview with our correspondent in Sokoto, urged the US government, particularly President Donald Trump, to support Nigeria with advanced technology to track and dismantle terrorist and bandit enclaves instead of amplifying what he termed false narratives.

Describing the genocide claim as unacceptable, Gobir said it does not reflect Nigeria’s social reality, where Muslims and Christians have historically coexisted peacefully, even within the same families.

“There is confusion being created where none exists,” he said. “In my own family, my stepmother-in-law is a Muslim married to a Christian. Bombs do not discriminate between Muslims and Christians.”

He cited his hometown of Sabon Birni in Sokoto State, which has suffered repeated bandit attacks, noting that churches exist in the area and that victims of abduction, regardless of religion, are subjected to ransom demands and other forms of exploitation by criminals.

The former lawmaker warned against the spread of what he described as untrue and misleading information by external actors, stressing that such narratives are capable of creating unnecessary tension in the country.

“It is neither wise nor fair for the United States to be fed with false narratives suggesting that a Christian genocide is taking place in Nigeria. The US should not be driven by wrong perceptions. It should verify facts by sending an independent mission to assess the real situation on ground,” he said.

Gobir acknowledged that Nigeria has the manpower and resources to tackle insecurity but identified gaps in political will and access to modern surveillance and combat technology as major constraints.
“With the right technologies and sustained international support, we would have been close to ending this menace and restoring peace,” he added.

He, however, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his economic reforms and renewed efforts to address insecurity, noting that the administration inherited the challenges from previous governments.

Gobir criticised the immediate past administration for what he described as inadequate handling of the security crisis, arguing that stronger and more practical measures could have significantly reduced the scale of the problem.

According to him, President Tinubu has shown commitment to restoring security and ensuring that terrorists and bandits are held accountable.
“Those threatening innocent citizens must be made to pay the price of their crimes,” Gobir said.