Get Guardian on GoogleThe Federal Government has dismissed as “false, baseless and divisive” allegations by some international commentators that terrorists in Nigeria are carrying out a systematic genocide against Christians.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Sunday, said such portrayals misrepresent Nigeria’s complex security situation” and risk playing into the hands of terrorists.
According to him, terrorists and criminals operating in Nigeria do not discriminate in their violence as Muslims, Christians, and even those who do not identify with any religion have all suffered at their hands.
“To couch this complex security situation as a deliberate campaign against Christians is inaccurate and harmful,” Idris said.
He stressed that Nigeria remains committed to protecting all citizens irrespective of faith or ethnicity, adding that recent successes in counter-terrorism operations prove that the government is not tolerating religiously motivated violence.
“Ours is a country that hosts one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, while also being home to some of the biggest Pentecostal churches and the largest Anglican congregation globally. Christianity is neither endangered nor marginalized in Nigeria,” the minister noted.
He pointed to international recognition of Nigeria’s interfaith peacebuilding efforts, recalling the March 2025 Commonwealth Peace Prize awarded to two Nigerian religious leaders, Rev. Dr. James Movel Wuye and Imam Dr. Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa, for decades of promoting trust and tolerance across faiths.
“The Nigerian story is not one of religious genocide or persecution. Rather, it is a story of resilience, diversity, and peaceful coexistence,” the minister emphasized.
While reaffirming the Tinubu administration’s determination to secure lives and property across the country, Idris urged the international media and commentators to “act with responsibility, respect the facts, and avoid sensationalism and divisive rhetoric.”
