Trump’s Adviser Massad Boulos has countered christians genocide claims in Nigeria.
NaijaOnPoint Nigeria reports that a senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump on Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, has dismissed claims that Christians are being specifically targeted in Nigeria, stating that terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISIS have killed more Muslims than Christians.
In a video shared by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Boulos described allegations of religious persecution in Nigeria by some U.S. politicians as “unfortunate and misleading.”
According to Boulos, the insecurity ravaging parts of Nigeria is not rooted in religion, but a broader issue of terrorism that affects all citizens, irrespective of faith or ethnicity.
“Any incident, any loss of life is absolutely unfortunate. Those who know the terrain well know that terrorism has no colour, no religion, and no tribe. People of all religions and all tribes are dying as a result of terrorist acts,” he said.
Boulos added that Boko Haram and ISIS have killed more Muslims than Christians, stressing that the crisis should not be framed as one-sided religious persecution.
“We even know that Boko Haram and ISIS are killing more Muslims than Christians. People from all backgrounds are suffering. This is not specifically targeted at one group or the other,” he stated.
Addressing the herder-farmer clashes in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, Boulos argued that while many of the affected farmers are Christians, the violence is largely driven by competition over resources not religion.
“There are incidents in the Middle Belt where most farmers happen to be Christians, and herdsmen pass through, leading to conflicts. But it’s inaccurate to call that religious violence,” he explained.
Boulos also praised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for strengthening security in volatile areas, noting that recent government measures have led to improvements.
“The Nigerian government and President Tinubu’s administration have recently taken additional measures and deployed more resources in affected areas. We’ve seen some improvements in recent weeks,” he said.
He further highlighted Nigeria’s longstanding religious harmony, describing the nation’s near-even split between Christians and Muslims as a model of coexistence.
“Nigeria is a country where religious and ethnic groups have lived together in harmony for centuries. The population is roughly 50-50 between Christians and Muslims, so this has never been a serious religious issue — and it shouldn’t become one,” he added.
Boulos reaffirmed the commitment of the U.S. government to partner with Nigeria in combating terrorism and promoting peace across all regions.
His remarks come amid renewed debate in Washington, following calls by U.S. lawmakers including Senator Ted Cruz to reclassify Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged persecution of Christians.
Senator Cruz has accused Nigerian authorities of “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists,” and recently introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act in the U.S. Senate, seeking sanctions on officials accused of religious rights violations.