Borno South lawmaker, Senator Ali Ndume, has denounced the claim by United States lawmaker, Senator Ted Cruz, that Christians in Nigeria are victims of genocidal killing.
Ndume, during an interview with Channels Television on Thursday, said the claim by Cruz and others on killings in Nigeria is totally false.
He warned that such claims could send the wrong message to the international community about the security situation in Nigeria.
“What Ted Cruz and co said is not true. It is not true to say Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria.
“This thing came from Ted Cruz and it dates back to 2020. In fact, Donald Trump, in his first term, designated us as CPC — Countries of Particular Concern — where a group of religious believers of any type are being persecuted. That means sanctions will be applied,” Ndume said.
The Borno Senator clarified that insecurity in Nigeria is not based on religion or ethnicity, as victims of attacks cut across different faiths and ethnicities.
He urged the international community to disregard the claims that there is religious persecution against Christians in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the federal government of Nigeria has strongly condemned and categorically refuted recent allegations suggesting that terrorists operating in Nigeria are engaged in a systematic genocide against Christians.
In a statement obtained by Naijaonpoint on Sunday, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, described the claims as false, baseless, despicable, and divisive.
He stated that portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of reality.
Idris said while Nigeria, like many countries, has faced security challenges, including acts of terrorism perpetrated by criminals, couching the situation as a deliberate, systematic attack on Christians is inaccurate and harmful.
He said the claim oversimplifies a complex, multifaceted security environment and plays into the hands of terrorists and criminals who seek to divide Nigerians along religious or ethnic lines.
According to the Minister, violent activities of terrorist groups are not confined to any particular religious or ethnic community, stressing that these criminals target all who reject their murderous ideology, regardless of faith.
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