Nigeria hits back at Trump’s claims of Christian persecution

Nigeria has rejected US President Donald Trump’s threat to cut aid and take military action over what he called “record killings” of Christians, saying the accusations are false and inflammatory.

At a press conference in Berlin on Tuesday, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar held up a booklet titled “Nigeria’s Constitutional Commitment to Religious Freedom and Rule of Law” and said:

“All the answers are in there. This is what guides us. It’s impossible for there to be religious persecution that can be supported in any way, shape or form by the government of Nigeria at any level.”

Trump had warned on social media over the weekend that if Abuja “continues to allow the killing of Christians,” the US would halt aid and prepare for “possible action.” On Sunday, he went further, saying Washington could deploy troops or launch air strikes. “They are killing a record number of Christians in Nigeria,” he wrote. “We are not gonna allow that to happen.”

The US president’s comments came after his administration reclassified Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” a status reserved for nations accused of severe violations of religious freedom.

In Nigeria, officials dismissed the accusations as political theatre. President Bola Tinubu, a Muslim married to a Christian pastor, said Trump’s claims distort the reality on the ground. “The characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” Tinubu said.

Security analysts note that while violence against Christians has occurred, it is part of a broader pattern of insecurity driven by armed groups, economic collapse, and communal conflicts. In the country’s north, Islamist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP have terrorized civilians for over a decade, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions—both Muslims and Christians.

In central Nigeria, deadly clashes between Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farmers are often over land, water, and grazing routes, not religion.

With about 238 million people split almost evenly between Christians and Muslims, Nigeria remains one of the world’s most religiously diverse countries. Tinubu’s government insists that both communities are victims of violence, not targets of it.

Trump’s comments, meanwhile, have energized his evangelical base in the US, where Christian persecution abroad has become a rallying cry on the right. Nigerian officials, however, appear more focused on damage control than confrontation. As Tuggar put it, “We remain committed to peace and security for all Nigerians, not for one faith, but for everyone.”