…Our Main Challenge is Terrorism, Not Religious Persecution-CDS
By Jeremy Fregene
Nigeria’s political and security establishment closed ranks this week in a show of unity, pushing back against former US President Donald Trump’s assertion that Christians were being persecuted in Nigeria, and his threat to launch a “military action” against the country.
From the Presidency to the military high command and the National Assembly, top officials rejected the charge as false and unhelpful, insisting that Nigeria’s challenges stem from terrorism and insecurity, not religious persecution.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja on Monday, Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, dismissed Trump’s statement as “baseless,” asserting that Nigeria’s main national security challenge remains terrorism, not religion.
“There are no Christians being persecuted in Nigeria,” Oluyede said. “We are facing insecurity, especially terrorism, and it’s something that has been affecting Nigeria for quite some time now.”
The defence chief explained that the Armed Forces were working relentlessly to combat terrorism and improve national security, adding that President Bola Tinubu’s recent restructuring of the security architecture had already strengthened counterterrorism operations.
“You will recall that just last week, the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, recalibrated the security architecture by bringing on board officers of proven integrity who are seasoned in asymmetric warfare to add impetus to our operations,” he noted.
Oluyede assured Nigerians that the military would intensify its campaigns against terrorists and criminal elements across the country. “We’re going to add more to what we’re doing, add more impetus to our operations, and ensure that we checkmate this act of terrorism within Nigeria,” he said.
He emphasised that terrorism was not peculiar to Nigeria, describing it as a global challenge that required international cooperation. “There are several countries that are challenged in that respect, and it calls for collective effort. So if we have countries out there who are ready to support Nigeria, we are ready to have them on board to help us checkmate the act of terrorism within our space,” he added.
His comments came after Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, accused Nigeria of “killing Christians” and threatened to go “guns-a-blazing” if the government failed to stop what he described as “atrocities against believers.”
The remarks sparked widespread concern both at home and abroad, prompting an official response from President Tinubu, who reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to democracy, religious liberty, and mutual respect in international relations.
In a statement posted on his X handle, the President said: “Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. Since 2023, our administration has maintained open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions.”
He rejected foreign narratives portraying Nigeria as religiously intolerant, describing them as inaccurate and unreflective of the nation’s diversity and unity. “The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians,” Tinubu stated.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s position, he added that religious tolerance “has been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” while pledging to continue working with the United States and other global partners to deepen mutual understanding and protect communities of all faiths.
The controversy spilled over into the National Assembly on Tuesday, where a mild drama unfolded on the Senate floor after a social media report falsely quoted Senate President Godswill Akpabio as rebuking Trump over his comments.
At the close of plenary, Akpabio debunked the report by a social media platform, RANT HQ, which had claimed that he attacked Trump and dismissed his warning about killings in Nigeria. The Senate President described the report as “malicious and completely fabricated,” stressing that he never made any such statement.
“Somebody will sit in the comfort of his room and produce a report and fake pictures of 2023 when the Senate President with Senators visited Port Harcourt on a very different thing and say, oh, Senate President answers President Trump—who am I to answer President Trump?” Akpabio asked.
He said he had petitioned the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) to identify and prosecute the individual behind the false publication. “It is meant to cause friction and put the Nigerian Senate in disrepute,” he warned, urging Nigerians to be cautious about misinformation on social media. “Social media should not break Nigeria,” he added.
However, a brief exchange ensued when Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau interjected, declaring that he was not afraid to speak his mind about the issue. “I’m not scared of Trump. I will say my mind. I’m a Nigerian. Nigeria is a sovereign nation. I’m a parliamentarian,” Barau said.
Akpabio immediately directed the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, to delete Barau’s remarks from the day’s proceedings, noting that they did not represent the official position of the upper chamber.
The Senate President later clarified that the National Assembly would take an official position on the matter once the executive’s diplomatic direction becomes clear.
As the controversy rages, Nigeria’s political leadership has maintained a united front, rejecting Trump’s depiction of the country as religiously divided, and reaffirming both its sovereignty and its commitment to democratic and humanitarian values.
A senior government source told KTH Daily that the administration views the uproar as “an opportunity to restate Nigeria’s unity before the world.”
“There is no religious war in Nigeria,” the source said. “We have insecurity, not persecution. What we need from our partners is cooperation, not confrontation,” he said.
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