The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has strongly refuted allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria, dismissing the claim as “politics taken too far.”
Mr Wike made the remarks whilst appearing on Politics Tonight, a Channels Television programme, on Monday, where he addressed insinuations that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was complicit in the killing of Christians across the country.
The minister pointed to the religious composition of Nigeria’s security leadership as evidence contradicting the genocide allegations.
“The Inspector General of Police is a Christian, the Director-General of State Security is a Christian. Today, the Chief of Defence is a Christian; the former Chief of Defence is a Christian. The Secretary to the Government is a Christian. Now tell me, how can any right-thinking person sit in government that will support the killing of our own people? That’s why I said it is politics taken too far,” Mr Wike said.
He insisted that President Tinubu could not possibly condone religious persecution, citing the President’s family circumstances as proof of his tolerance.
“Not this President — whose wife is a senior pastor — will shut his eyes and will not do anything, that a particular religion is being eliminated. Certainly not,” he stated.
Mr Wike maintained that the federal government had committed substantial resources towards combating terrorism and protecting all citizens, irrespective of their religious affiliation.
“In fact, as I speak to you, I don’t know any government that has spent more resources in taming terrorism than this government,” he said.
The minister stressed that terrorist violence had affected Nigerians across all religious divides.
“Terrorists are killing Christians, terrorists are killing Muslims, terrorists are killing non-believers. Nobody would be happy over the death of anybody, whether a Christian or a Muslim. No right-thinking leader would say, ‘I’m happy that people are dying’,” Mr Wike said.
Defending President Tinubu’s track record on religious tolerance, Mr Wike recalled his own decision to support the President during the 2023 elections despite controversy over the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“One of the reasons some of us supported him, when people raised the issue of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, was because we knew the kind of person he is. He is not an extremist. That’s why he was able to say, ‘I’m marrying a Christian’,” Mr Wike said.
The allegations of Christian genocide appear to have originated from recent comments by former United States President Donald Trump, though Mr Wike did not directly name the source of the claims during his television appearance.
