•‘Only gullible people will believe American president’s excuse’.
Some Nigerians in the United States of America have rejected American President, Donald Trump’s threat to invade Nigeria with American soldiers and attack some terrorists and bandits that are allegedly committing genocide against the Christians in the country.
Speaking with Saturday Telegraph, the Nigerians, who preferred anonymity, said “it is only perpetual gullible people, who are consumed with eternal bitterness and self-defeating hate, that will believe the “nonsensical excuse” by Trump.”
Alleging that the threat by Trump is an attempt to use the U.S military to change leadership in Nigeria, the respondents said that is the only thing Trump’s military threat means.
A resident of California said: “It is an insult on my intelligence and that of reasonable people who understand the complexity of Nigeria to say that Nigerian Muslims want to exterminate Nigerian Christians in the same country, where there are more Muslims in Osogbo, Ilorin, Ibadan, etc, but there are more churches than mosques, and the Muslims have not forced the Christians to stop practicing their religion.
Another Nigerian based in New York faulted Trump on the threat, while noting that the Nigerian legal system is rooted in Christianity, and yet the Muslims have not advocated changing it. She explained: “Our school calendar and civil service are fashioned after Christianity.
For instance, you and I, because of our Christian background, enjoy sitting at home or go to church on Sundays, whilst the Muslims go to work on Fridays, their holy day.
“There is insecurity in Nigeria. There is banditry in Nigeria, but nobody can and will exterminate Christianity and Christians in the country. You know that! I know that!” In a similar vein, a Nigerian medical practitioner in the US said that President Trump is basing his invasion threat on propaganda and not facts.
He said: “Some of us know that tribal and political groups are amplifying the dangerous propaganda and that Trump knows exactly why he’s capitalising on the propaganda. “He is not coming to save Christianity in Nigeria.
He’s doing this because the President Bola Tinubu Administration is calling his bluff, and that of the United States by aligning with BRICS, which seeks to end U.S dollar hegemony. He is also not happy with Tinubu’s refusal to accept his Venezuelan deportees.”
Another Nigerian-American said: “Tell Nigerians to calm down, Trump is just doing his usual thing; bragging. China and Russia are not going to let that happen.
Also, remember what happened to soldiers in Ondo State in early 80s, the same thing will happen now, they will see their missiles and bombs turn back mid-air. But Trump is not going to do it, he is only bragging for nothing.”
Warning
The Diaspora Nigerians however, warned those that want Trump to send the U.S military to Nigeria, saying that Nigeria is a fragile, delicate and complex country A septuagenarian US-returnee, who was in America for over 20 years, said: “Trump and those hailing him should be warned not to tamper with Nigeria the way George Bush senior disastrously did with Somalia in 1992/1993; the way Obama, Hillary Clinton, Sarkozy and Cameron disastrously did with that spurious U.N Resolution 1971 given to NATO, etc.
“It is going to be a disaster if the leadership of Nigeria and/or the Hausa-Fulani Muslims are killed. Let the Nigerian people solve whatever problems they have. You can help them.
“The particular group, which is the happiest of all the groups that want Trump to bring the U.S. military to Nigeria to kill Hausa-Fulani Muslims under the guise that he wants to “save Christianity in Nigeria” will have themselves to blame, because, as you know, the Hausa-Fulanis will react one way or the other.”
Trump’s decision based on misleading, manipulated data – IMPI
Also, the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) faulted Donald Trump’s decision to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), describing it as a move influenced by “jaundiced and obtrusive data” supplied by groups with ulterior motives.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Omoniyi Akinsiju, IMPI alleged that two organisations were key sources of misleading figures that distorted the reality of Nigeria’s security situation.
IMPI expressed concern over what it called the “deliberate manipulation of terrorism-related data” by vested interest groups seeking to portray Nigeria as a country where Christians face systematic extermination. He said: “We are concerned about the inauspicious propagation of terrorism-related deaths within a singular religious context.
“While we recognise the sensitivity of this issue and affirm that no life deserves to be lost, it is equally immoral to fabricate death statistics to justify a predetermined narrative.”
The think tank noted that a pattern of falsified reports had emerged in recent years, driven by local and international actors campaigning for Nigeria’s CPC designation. “Before this official response, purveyors of tainted data had already populated social media with exaggerated figures.
For instance, Intersociety reported that 5,068 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2022, while Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List cited 5,014 Christian deaths; more than in the rest of the world combined. These figures do not reflect reality.” According to IMPI, data from credible global sources paint a very different picture.
The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) recorded 6,701 terrorism-related deaths globally in 2022, a 9% drop from the previous year and 38% below the 2015 peak. In Nigeria, terrorism fatalities declined to 392 in 2022, the lowest since 2011.
While fatalities rose slightly to 533 in 2023 and 565 in 2024, IMPI stressed that these numbers were nowhere near the “inflated” claims by Intersociety and Open Doors. “Intersociety alleged that 8,222 Christians were killed in 2023 alone, while Open Doors claimed that 82% of the 4,998 Christians killed globally for their faith were in Nigeria.
These fabrications were further amplified by the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), which reported 1,637 Christian deaths between April and June 2023,” IMPI explained.
The group said the trend of exaggerating death tolls continued into 2024, with Open Doors asserting that 3,100 Christians were killed and another report on HumanAngle.com claiming 7,087 deaths within the first 220 days of the year, figures that IMPI described as “baseless.”
“However, the Global Terrorism Index reported only 565 terrorism-related fatalities in Nigeria for 2024. This underscores the industry of falsehood that underpins the campaign to label Nigeria a CPC.
While every life lost is tragic, GTI and Statista data show that the situation cannot be categorised as genocide,” the statement said.
IMPI maintained that President Trump’s CPC designation for Nigeria was made “on the back of fictitious and manipulated statistics” and urged the U.S. government to independently verify data before using it for policy decisions.
The organisation also revealed that its research into Inter-society’s records shows a long-standing pattern of data distortion dating back to 2019. “In 2019, GTI reported a 39.1% decline in terrorism deaths in Nigeria, from 2,043 in 2018 to 1,245 in 2019, the lowest since 2011.
Despite this, Intersociety claimed between 1,000 and 1,200 ‘Christian deaths’ that year, contrary to all validated global indices.”
Citing the Ninth Annual Report on Lethal Violence in Nigeria (University of Ibadan, 2019), IMPI noted that the total number of violent deaths that year stood at 11,277, with Intersociety attributing nearly all fatalities to Christians; a clear indication of data manipulation.
Bishop Oke
The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke, on Friday, while reacting to the issue, urged President Bola Tinubu to partner the US in tackling the cancer.
Oke’s remarks came amid heightened national and international scrutiny of Nigeria’s security situation, particularly the recurrent attacks on Christian communities in the northern and central regions of the country.
While addressing journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Friday, Wale Oke said it was not debatable that there was genocide against Christians in the country.
Listing killings such as that of Deborah Samuel, as well as, the abduction of Leah Sharibu, the Chibok girls, and attacks in Benue, Taraba, Southern Kaduna, Owo in Ondo State, Niger, and Plateau states, the cleric asserted that hundreds of Christians and pastors had been massacred.
The PFN President said: “There is Christian genocide in Nigeria. There is no other name to call it. No Christian group is attack- ing Muslims, the patience of the church is being stretched.”
He clarified that the violence is perpetrated by radical groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and their splinter factions, who he said profess Islam during the onslaught, and not by the Muslim community at large.
Oke expressed appreciation to Donald Trump for raising concerns over the plight of Christians, but urged against any invasion, stressing that cooperation with the Nigerian government is the preferred solution. “President Bola Tinubu should ask for the cooperation of President Trump instead of opposing him.
The President should root out radical groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP. They should work together so that Nigerians can live in peace,” he said.
Stressing the constitutional duty of the federal government to protect all citizens, Oke noted that while the current administration inherited the security challenges, decisive action is urgently needed.
“The government should stand up and not play politics with it. President Tinubu and the federal government need to cooperate with Trump to deal with this cancer,” Oke insisted.
Threat to Nigeria’s sovereignty SDP Chairman
Commenting on the issue, the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, described the comment by Trump as a direct threat to the nation’s sovereignty and image in the international community.
Gabam said that the claims were unfounded and unfair to a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country like Nigeria, where insecurity affects citizens of all faiths. According to him, “Nigerians are being killed from both faiths. The country’s security challenges cannot be reduced to a single religious narrative.”
He noted that the North-East and North-West regions, in particular, have suffered massive violence, with the majority of victims being Muslims. According to him, such facts contradict Trump’s assertions and underscore the need for Nigerians to focus on their shared humanity rather than divisive rhetoric.
Gabam urged the administration of President Bola Tinubu to swiftly engage in strategic diplomacy and appoint competent, patriotic Nigerians as ambassadors who can defend the country’s reputation abroad. According to him, “This development calls for urgent and informed international dialogue.
The Nigerian government must respond with facts, figures, and credible representation to counter these misleading claims,” he said. The SDP national chairman emphasised that while Nigeria faces serious security and governance challenges, the solution lies in strengthening domestic institutions and ensuring accountability, not in accepting external threats or intervention.
“Nigeria needs support, not threats or military solutions. Our leaders must prioritize service over personal interests and demonstrate commitment to protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians,” he said.
Gabam recalled that this was not the first time Trump had made disparaging remarks about Nigeria, citing his past comments describing the country as “fantastically corrupt” and imposing visa restrictions on Nigerians.
He said that such statements should serve as a wake-up call for the Nigerian leadership to rebuild confidence in governance and tackle the root causes of insecurity and corruption.
He stressed that the failures of successive administrations had compounded the nation’s current predicament, and urged the Tinubu government to learn from those mistakes by taking decisive actions to restore peace and stability.
“Our criticisms are not meant to undermine the government but to draw attention to the urgent need for tangible solutions,” Gabam clarified.
He said that the government must ensure that security agencies operate with professionalism, respect for human rights, and transparency. He also called for a holistic approach to tackling the causes of terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping, which have ravaged the country for over a decade.
