Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says allegations that Christians are being targeted and killed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration are politically motivated.
Wike, who spoke on Monday during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, described the genocide claim as “politics taken too far.”
“I am a Christian. My father is a pastor; my family are all Christians. It’s an indictment on my person as a Christian that, in a government I’m serving, anybody will allege that the government is supporting genocide or the killing of Christians. This is politics taken too far,” he said.
He noted that several key figures in the security architecture of the Tinubu administration are Christians.
“The Inspector-General of Police is a Christian, the Director-General of the Department of State Services 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?”
When asked whether he believed the opposition was behind the narrative of a Christian genocide, Wike replied, “It is very obvious, and I have said this.”
“The problem we have today is that, Mr President, the very nature of politics means you can see the collapse of the opposition.
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 issues that will divide the country.”
Wike stressed that no Nigerian leader takes pleasure in the killings happening in any part of the country.
His comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria over alleged killings of Christians.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump said he had asked the Pentagon to prepare a “possible plan of attack” in Nigeria, claiming Christianity faces an “existential threat” in the country.
Trump warned that if Nigeria failed to end the killings, “the attack will be fast, vicious, and sweet — just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians.”
He repeated the threat on Sunday after the Nigerian presidency proposed diplomatic talks to address the issue. When asked if he was considering air strikes or deploying U.S. troops, Trump replied, “Could be. I mean, a lot of things — I envisage a lot of things.”
Reacting to Trump’s comments, Wike said he believed the U.S. president may have been misinformed.
“There could be some misinformation or distortion. It’s unfortunate,” he said.