The Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, has refuted allegations of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, attributing the claims to "another error in their intelligence gathering" by the United States. His statement comes in response to Nigeria's recent redesignation as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) by the U.S. government and inflammatory remarks from former U.S. President Donald Trump.
On October 31, 2025, the Trump administration officially designated Nigeria as a CPC, a label for nations engaging in or tolerating "systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom." This decision followed lobbying efforts by some U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups concerned about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Following the redesignation, Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform over the weekend, accusing the Nigerian government of turning a blind eye to the killing of Christians. In a series of posts, Trump threatened to halt all U.S. aid to Nigeria and suggested the possibility of military intervention, stating the U.S. might enter the country "guns a-blazing" if the alleged killings continue.
Speaking at a monthly joint security press briefing in Abuja on Monday, Issa-Onilu dismissed these assertions as "false and unfair to Nigeria." He argued that even the United States is aware that there is no systematic persecution of Christians in the country.
"Let me speak specifically to some of the import of the tweet. One is to say that the Christian genocide in Nigeria, I'm sure even America knows that is not true," Issa-Onilu stated. He drew a parallel to past U.S. intelligence failures, saying, "This is not the first time that the intelligence of the United States has failed America. It failed them in Iraq. It turned out that there were no weapons of mass destruction, and they apologised. It failed them in Libya and many other instances. So I’m sure this is another error in their intelligence gathering."
The NOA Director General also pointed to recent changes in Nigeria's security leadership as evidence of the government's commitment to addressing internal security challenges, including communal and religious violence.
The Office of the National Security Adviser and other security chiefs were also scheduled to brief the media on Monday to provide a comprehensive response to the allegations. The Nigerian government has officially rejected the CPC designation, stating that the claims do not reflect the reality on the ground and that Nigerians of all faiths have a history of peaceful coexistence.
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