Politics
Nigeria disputes Trump’s genocide claims amid airstrikes
Nigeria dismisses Trump’s genocide claim, emphasising equal impact of violence on Muslims and Christians amid complex security crisis
Nigeria dismisses Trump’s genocide claim, emphasising equal impact of violence on Muslims and Christians amid complex security crisis
– Nigerian officials refute Trump’s claims about U.S. airstrikes, emphasising that violence affects both Christians and Muslims equally.
– Data shows the narrative of Christian genocide in Nigeria misrepresents reality, with most victims having no tracked affiliations.
Nigeria has strongly rejected President Donald Trump’s claim that U.S. airstrikes in the country were necessary to stop a genocide targeting Christians. Nigerian officials insist the violence in northwestern Nigeria affects both Muslim and Christian communities and is driven by complex security and ethnic challenges rather than religion.
Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar told the BBC that the attacks are about “protecting Nigerians and innocent lives, whether Nigerian or non-Nigerian,” emphasizing that the strikes, which targeted ISIS-affiliated militants in Sokoto State on Christmas Day, were part of broader efforts to combat terrorism. Trump had claimed that militants were primarily killing Christians at “levels not seen for many years, and even centuries,” but Nigerian authorities reject this characterization.
Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project shows that more Muslims than Christians have been killed in targeted attacks between January 2020 and September 2025, casting doubt on claims of a systematic Christian genocide. Bulama Bukarti, a Nigerian human rights advocate, highlighted that in Sokoto State, attacks such as suicide bombings often kill civilians indiscriminately, impacting both Muslim and Christian populations.
Security crisis
Analysts stress that Nigeria’s security crisis is multifaceted, involving extremist groups like Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, and others, as well as longstanding ethnic and resource-based conflicts between predominantly Muslim herders and Christian farming communities. Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, who leads a diocese in the affected area, also confirmed that the region “does not have a problem with persecution” of Christians.
The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that terrorist violence against any community is unacceptable and that the government remains committed to protecting all Nigerians, regardless of religion. Officials warn that framing the crisis through a simplistic religious lens risks deepening sectarian divisions and undermining local efforts to address the broader security threats.
