Monday, November 17, 2025 - A United States lawmaker, Riley Moore, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s claims that Nigeria does not encourage religious persecution, insisting that the reality on the ground contradicts the President’s public statements.
In a post on X on Sunday, shared by Moore, he cited Tinubu’s
earlier assertion that his administration opposes religious persecution,
responding, “@officialABAT claims his government opposes religious persecution.
But 12 states have Sharia law, and a Christian faces the death penalty for
defending his farm from a Muslim Fulani militant who stabbed him repeatedly.”
Moore also shared a video of a Fox News Sunday interview
with anchor Shannon Bream, who read out Tinubu’s November statement on
religious freedom in Nigeria.
Tinubu’s November post, as read by Bream, stated, “Nigeria
stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious
liberty. Since 2023, our administration has maintained an open and active
engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address
security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant
does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the
consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of
religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of
our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious
persecution and does not encourage it.
“Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to
protect citizens of all faiths. Our administration is committed to working with
the United States government and the international community to deepen
understanding and cooperation on the protection of communities of all faiths.”
Reacting to the statement during the interview, Bream noted,
“(Tinubu) says the picture we’re (US) getting here is not accurate.”
Responding, Moore alleged, “You know, unfortunately, that is
completely false. I mean, there are states in Nigeria that have blasphemy laws.
People who are facing the death penalty right now for blasphemy against Islam.
“There’s a person right now who’s held in prison for
defending himself from an attack from a Muslim militant from the Fulani tribe.
He defended himself, and he’s facing the death penalty.
“So no, there is serious persecution happening in Nigeria. I
know the president, Tinibu, is in a difficult position in trying
to protect his interests there in that country, but they are complicit in
this to one degree or another with statements like this.”
Moore’s remarks come after US President Donald Trump, on
October 31, designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged
Christian genocide, warning that the Nigerian government must stop the killings
or the United States would deploy troops “to wipe out the jihadists.”
The Federal Government has repeatedly denied claims of a
systematic “Christian genocide”, describing such allegations as false,
misleading, and a distortion of Nigeria’s security challenges.
In a separate November 9 statement, Moore had backed
Trump’s position, writing, “President Trump is absolutely right to defend our
brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering horrific persecution, and even
martyrdom, for their faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
His comments add to the intensifying diplomatic tension
following renewed debate in US political circles on religious persecution in
Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Christian and Muslim groups in Nigeria
remain divided over the genocide claim.
On November 13, the President of the Pentecostal Fellowship
of Nigeria, Bishop Wale Oke, maintained that Christians were facing genocide,
saying, “The evidence is all over the place. There is nothing anybody can say
that can whitewash it. It is evil, it is blood shedding, it is mass murder, and
it is genocide. The time to stop it is now.”
However, the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria, in a
statement on Thursday, dismissed Trump’s claim, saying, “There is no religious
war in Nigeria, and America should not now introduce one by giving a religious
interpretation to what is essentially either an ethnic crisis, an occupational
dispute, or an economic rivalry.”
Also on Thursday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf
Tuggar, and British broadcaster Piers Morgan clashed on social media
over the airing of Tuggar’s recent interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
Tuggar insisted that the full and unedited interview must be
broadcast, warning that selective editing could distort Nigeria’s image and
“amplify misleading narratives and allegations of religious persecution.”
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