• Trump lied, insecurity driven by resource conflicts – Falana
The Federal Government has accused foreign lobbyists, particularly those operating in the United States, of deliberately driving the narrative of a Christian genocide in Nigeria and actively misrepresenting the country’s internal security challenges to influence international perception.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made the claim during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, asserting that government findings indicate a direct attempt to distort the reality on the ground.
“The Nigerian government has been able to see a correlation between some of the lobbyists operating, especially in the US, and the activities here,” Idris stated.
He added, “We have seen that some of the influencers of these criminal activities have a direct relationship with lobbyists in the US, who have a direct relationship with some of these people who are shouting about this issue outside this country.”
The Minister’s statement comes amid renewed diplomatic tension, fueled by the United States’ recent redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” over alleged religious persecution and mass killings of Christians, a position the Nigerian government has strongly and repeatedly rejected.
Idris insisted that while insecurity remains a serious concern affecting communities nationwide, there is no evidence that any religious group is being specifically targeted.
He described the U.S. stance as a product of misrepresentation and misinformation, arguing that violent groups in Nigeria do not operate along religious lines.
“Nigeria faces long-standing security challenges that have impacted Christians and Muslims alike. Any narrative suggesting that the Nigerian state is failing to take action against religious attacks is based on misinformation or faulty data,” he said.
Highlighting significant counter-terrorism efforts under President Bola Tinubu’s administration since May 2023, Idris reported that security forces have neutralized more than 13,500 terrorists and arrested over 17,000 suspects.
The Minister also claimed that more than 9,850 abducted persons have been rescued and reunited with their families within the same period.
The Minister maintained that the government will continue to engage international partners to end terrorists’ activities in the country.
In a related development, Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the federal government for what he described as its failure to decisively address the growing insecurity across the country, particularly the menace of banditry and kidnapping.
Speaking on Channels Television’s “Politics Today”, Falana questioned how a modern state could permit criminal gangs to abduct citizens without prompt rescue efforts, forcing families to negotiate and pay huge ransoms to criminals.
Falana noted that the violence in parts of the country is driven by criminality and resource conflicts rather than religion.
He further described Trump’s allegation that thousands of Christians were being systematically killed in Nigeria as a lie not backed by evidence.
He said the situation reflects a deep failure in governance and law enforcement, urging the government to restore public confidence by strengthening security operations and bringing perpetrators to justice.
Falana also renewed his call for the establishment of ranches across different parts of the country, noting that such enclosures would curb open grazing and reduce conflicts between herders and farmers.
“There should be ranches established in different parts of the country where you would have an enclosure for the animals to graze,” he said.
