Nigeria: “Misinformation or Faulty Data” Behind Trump Accusations Of Christian Killings
Nigeria’s government said on Wednesday that “misinformation or faulty data” was behind President Donald Trump’s accusations that the country was seeing mass killings of Christians.
“It is important to restate that the menace of terrorism in Nigeria does not exclusively target any religious or ethnic group,” said Minister of Information Mohammed Idris in a Wednesday press briefing. “As in many parts of the world, extremism is mindless, blind to religion, tribe, or class. It is a war against all peace-loving Nigerians and against the unity and progress of our great nation.”
“Therefore, any narrative suggesting that the Nigerian State is failing to take action against religious attacks is based on misinformation or faulty data,” continued Idris. He said that Christians and Muslims were “working and succeeding together” in the Nigerian security services’ efforts against “extremists and criminals”, noting the complexity of Nigeria’s security situation due to growing instability in the Sahel region and the impacts of climate change aggravating conflicts between farmers and herders in northwestern Nigeria.
Idris highlighted the aid supplied by the United States to Nigeria in its fight against terrorism, particularly deliveries of Super Tucano counterinsurgency aircraft and the ongoing procurement of AH-1Z attack helicopters. “We call on our American friends and partners to approach the Nigerian situation with an understanding of its complex realities — a vast, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious nation making significant strides in economic reform and in the bolstering of its security architecture”, with Idris stressing that collaboration on addressing Nigeria’s security concerns had to be anchored on “trust, collaboration, and mutual respect”.
Idris’ statement was the latest in a series of comments by Nigerian officials responding to Trump’s claims of violence against Christians in Nigeria.
“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria,” said Trump in a video message posted over the weekend on the Truth Social social media site he owns. “We’re going to do things to Nigeria that Nigeria’s not gonna be happy about, and may very well go into that now-disgraced country guns-a-blazing to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible, horrible atrocities”.
Claims of mass murder of Christian Nigerians have been pushed heavily by conservative American evangelical Christian groups in recent months. Senator Ted Cruz, a leading propagator of these claims, has said that he would be naming Nigerian officials he accused of complicity in the killings following Trump’s threats. While experts dispute the claims that Christians are exclusively targeted by terrorism and communal violence, the campaign has found supporters such as talk show host Bill Maher and rapper Nicki Minaj.