Nigeria Rejects US Religious Freedom Claims, Seeks Security Cooperation

Nigeria has dismissed the United States’ decision to label it a violator of religious freedom, calling the move “fundamentally misinformed,” even as it expressed willingness to continue collaborating with Washington on security matters

At a briefing with foreign diplomats in Abuja on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Dunoma Umar Ahmed said recent “external claims suggesting systemic religious persecution in Nigeria are unfounded”

He emphasized that Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts target militants who attack citizens “of all faiths,” not specific religious groups

The remarks came after former US President Donald Trump announced that Nigeria had been designated a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over alleged killings of Christians by “radical Islamists”

The Nigerian government rejected the characterization, saying it overlooks the country’s complex conflicts that affect both Christians and Muslims

“The state continues to wage a comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign against groups that target Nigerians of all faiths,” Ahmed told diplomats, adding that dialogue and cooperation should remain the foundation of international engagement

Nigeria has battled a jihadist insurgency in the northeast for over a decade, with Boko Haram and Islamic State-linked fighters causing more than 40,000 deaths and displacing around two million people, according to UN figures

Information Minister Alhaji Mohammed Idris later said some of those amplifying claims of Christian persecution maintain ties with lobbyists in the US

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He reaffirmed that Nigeria remains open to “support from foreign nations, including the United States,” to enhance its security and eliminate terrorism

Nigeria continues to grapple with violent banditry in its northwest and resource-based clashes between herders and farmers in the central region conflicts experts say are driven more by competition over land and resources than by religion

President Bola Tinubu, who recalled most ambassadors last year as part of an “efficiency review,” has yet to appoint a new envoy to Washington, leaving Nigeria without direct diplomatic representation amid the controversy

Writer : Mweru Mbugua