President Tinubu’s Minister reveals elements behind allegations of “Christian Genocide”
President Tinubu’s Minister reveals elements behind allegations of “Christian Genocide”
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has accused opposition parties of spreading claims that Christians are being killed in Nigeria as part of a calculated move to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s administration and weaken public confidence in his leadership.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Monday, Wike described the development as “politics taken too far”, insisting that such tactics were designed to divide the country and destabilize the government.
According to the minister, “It is very obvious and I have said this. The problem we have today is Mr President’s own nature of politics, you can see the collapse of the opposition.”
He argued that the opposition, facing dwindling relevance, has resorted to propaganda.
“It will be difficult for anybody. The opposition today has seen that no party is prepared to challenge the President returning to power. What do we do? Should we allow him to just go in like that without challenges? We must do something and one of the things to do is bring up such things that will divide the country,” he said.
Wike maintained that the narrative of genocide under Tinubu’s government was both false and dangerous.
“It is an indictment that a government I am serving, anybody will allege that that government is supporting genocide, killing of Christians and I am still in that government. This is politics taken too far,” he stated.
He questioned the logic behind such allegations, noting, “The Inspector General of Police is a Christian, the Director General of State Security Service is a Christian, and the Chief of Defence (Staff) is a Christian. Tell me how any right-thinking person will think that we will sit in a government and support the killing of our own people?”
Wike stressed that every Nigerian leader feels deep sorrow over the loss of lives anywhere in the country, irrespective of religion or ethnicity.
His comments come amid escalating diplomatic tensions following remarks by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Saturday claimed he had asked the Pentagon to prepare “a possible plan of attack in Nigeria” over alleged persecution of Christians.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump warned that if the killings continue, the U.S. military response “will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians.”
When asked on Sunday if the planned response would involve U.S. troops or air strikes, Trump said, “Could be, I mean, a lot of things, I envisage a lot of things.”
The Nigerian government has since dismissed Trump’s comments as reckless and unsubstantiated, emphasising that claims of systematic religious persecution are unfounded.
