The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, has described former US President Donald Trump’s allegation of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria as further proof of a failure in United States intelligence.
Naijaonpoint reports that Issa-Onilu made the remark at the monthly National Joint Security press briefing in Abuja, on Monday, November 3, 2025, arguing that Washington had erred before on major security judgments.
“This is not the first time that the intelligence of the United States failed Americans. It failed in Iraq, it turned out that there was no weapon of mass destruction and they apologized,” Issa-Onilu said.
“It failed them in Libya and many other instances. So I’m sure this is another error in their intelligence gathering.”
He acknowledged that “we all are Nigerians. We know that there are killings IN Nigeria and there are killings that should never happen,” but he insisted that the US characterisation was based on faulty intelligence rather than a full grasp of the country’s complex security landscape.
Naijaonpoint reports that the row began after Trump, in an explosive post on his Truth Social account, said he had instructed the Pentagon to map out a possible plan of attack in Nigeria, one day after warning that Christianity was “facing an existential threat” in Africa’s most populous nation.
Trump wrote that if Nigeria did not stem the killings, “it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians.”
When asked about the possibility of US troops on the ground or air strikes, Trump said: “Could be, I mean, a lot of things, I envisage a lot of things.”
He added that Washington would not “allow that to happen.”
Nigeria’s presidency suggested a meeting to resolve the matter, and the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) scheduled a briefing with security chiefs to address the allegation and its implications.
Security officials and government spokesmen have urged restraint and emphasised cooperation on counter-terrorism while insisting Nigeria’s sovereignty must be respected.
Issa-Onilu used the occasion to urge responsible media reporting on security issues and underlined the Federal Government’s commitment to fighting terrorism at home.
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