The Nigerian government has rejected the U.S. decision to designate it as a “Country of Particular Concern” on religious freedom, calling the move “misinformed and based on inaccurate data.”
During a press briefing, Dunoma Umar Ahmed, Permanent Secretary of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said claims of systematic religious persecution in the country are “completely unfounded” and that the U.S. designation distorts Nigeria’s secular constitutional system.
Information Minister Mohammed Idris defended Nigeria’s record in counterterrorism, noting that the government had eliminated more than 13,500 militants and rescued over 11,200 hostages, stressing that “terrorism has affected both Christians and Muslims alike.”
The rejection follows President Donald Trump’s decision to return Nigeria to the list of religious freedom violators, accompanied by a threat of potential military action should Nigeria fail to act decisively to stop the killing of Christians.
