Nigeria Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said the false narrative by some United States officials that victims of terror attacks in Nigeria are largely Christians was based on faulty data and some assumptions.
The Minister who spoke Tuesday night on Cable News Network (CNN) said religious freedom is enshrined in Nigeria’s Constitution.
Alhaji Idris, in a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Rabiu Ibrahim, maintained that those promoting the false narrative “are unwittingly playing into the hands of criminals whose ultimate objective is to incite conflict between Christians and Muslims in the country.”
According to the minister, although there were attacks on Christians, they were not targeting one religion.
“They target Christians. They also target Muslims. We have seen that especially in the northern part of the country,” he said.
Minister Idris stated that Nigeria remains a highly tolerant nation with respect to freedom of religion, adding that promoting a false narrative of intolerance could inadvertently sow division between Christians and Muslims in the country.
“Characterising it as attacks on Christians will drive Nigeria towards division. The criminals want to portray the country as if there is a fight between Christians and Muslims.
“We have seen attacks on Christians. We have also seen attacks on Muslims. But it is also wrong to characterise Nigeria as a country that does not tolerate religious freedom, and it’s also wrong to say that everywhere is not safe in Nigeria. Nigeria is indeed a safe country,” he said.
The minister stated that Nigeria is addressing its security challenges to guarantee the safety and well-being of its citizens, adding that there is a massive drive by the government to ensure that the country is safe for everyone.
According to him, Nigeria has been grappling with security challenges since 2009, but there has been renewed momentum and determination to eradicate these threats in the last two years.
“In the last two years, there has been a renewed focus and renewed attention has been put on ensuring that Nigeria becomes safe. We have a massive deployment of resources to improve our military hardware.
“We have also seen investments in other sectors such as agriculture and social services to ensure that the non-kinetic approach contributes to the stability of our country.
“Even the recent changes (of service chiefs) are all geared towards strengthening our security architecture to ensure that the government responds to every situation,” he stated.
