Abuja, Nigeria — November 6, 2025 | Dalena Reporters
The Nigerian federal government has accused foreign lobbyists, particularly those based in the United States, of orchestrating a campaign to promote the narrative of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, a claim the government says is designed to influence international perceptions and pressure the country diplomatically.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, suggested that certain external “influencers” are aligned with U.S. lobby groups who have direct ties to actors inside Nigeria raising claims about targeted killings of Christians.
“The Nigerian government has been able to see a correlation between some of the lobbyists operating, especially in the US, and the activities here in Nigeria,” Idris said. “Some of the influencers of these activities have direct relationships with lobbyists in the US, who have direct relationships with some of the people shouting about this issue outside this country.”
The Federal Government emphasized that while the country continues to face serious security challenges — including terrorism, kidnapping, banditry and herder-farmer violence — there is no evidence of a deliberate policy of targeted religious killings. Idris said: “Any narrative suggesting that the Nigerian state is failing to take action against religious attacks is based on misinformation or faulty data.
In the same briefing, government officials disclosed that since May 2023, the security agencies have recorded the neutralisation of at least 13,500 terrorists, the arrest of over 17,000 suspected terrorists, and the rescue of over 9,800 abducted persons from insurgent groups.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, backed the position, telling the Diplomatic Corps in Abuja that Nigeria remains a secular democracy where citizens of all faiths coexist and serve across all levels of government. He described recent reports of religious persecution as “unfounded and inaccurate.
The government’s response signals a strategic effort to challenge international narratives branded by some analysts as undermining Nigeria’s image abroad. One senior official called the campaign “a sustained attack from foreign propaganda” that potentially destabilises national unity.
With Nigeria’s designation by the U.S. as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged religious-freedom abuses still fresh, the federal government is emphasising its preference for cooperation over coercion. In a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, rejected the idea of targeted Christian killings, stated that Christians were not being singled out, and called for increased bilateral collaboration to address terrorism.