The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has told a visiting United States delegation that the security challenges confronting Nigeria are criminal in nature and should not be misconstrued as a religious war.
Fagbemi made the clarification on Tuesday during a closed-door meeting at the Federal Ministry of Justice headquarters in Abuja with a US fact-finding team led by the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Riley M. Barnes, and the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr.
Speaking to journalists after the session, the AGF explained that the meeting provided a crucial platform to correct international narratives surrounding terrorism in the country.
He insisted that while the government acknowledges the existence of security threats, the situation is not driven by religious persecution as often portrayed in some quarters.
“What is important is to appraise them that even though we have challenges in Nigeria, it is not religious,” Fagbemi stated. “We have security challenges, and the government is doing its utmost to ensure that these challenges are addressed.”
He noted that the interaction allowed the Federal Government to present “our own side of the story,” countering reports that suggest the crisis is sectarian.
“Things are not as heinous as people are portraying. I can assure you of that one. We have problems in Nigeria. It is not a problem of religion,” he added.
Addressing the legal handling of insurgency suspects, the AGF disclosed that the justice system has remained rigorous and fair. He revealed that between 2017 and 2025, the government successfully secured the conviction of 860 terror suspects while 891 others were discharged and acquitted.
Fagbemi cited the high number of acquittals as evidence of the government’s adherence to the rule of law and due process, arguing that the judicial system does not merely rubber-stamp arrests.
“What this speaks to, particularly the issue of discharges of the defendants, is that you don’t just arrest people and clamp them into prison,” the AGF explained. “We follow due process. They are profiled. Those who have nothing to do are left off the hook. Those who we believe we have cases against, we take to court. It is for the court to decide.”
The AGF noted that the Ministry of Justice was just one stop for the US delegation, which has also engaged with the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Chief of Defence Staff, Civil Society Organisations, and religious bodies to gain a holistic view of the situation on the ground.
The meeting was also attended by the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Beatrice Jeddy-Agba.