The Federal Government yesterday flayed the call by five US Republican Senators for the redesignation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern because of its alleged persecution of Christians.
The Senators had in a letter to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, also alleged violation of Christians’ rights to practice their religion
They cited the attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State and the lynching of Deborah Samuel, a female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, as cases of “religious persecutions” in Nigeria.
But the government said the call by the senators was based on a false premise and misunderstanding of what was going on in the country.
It however admitted that a terror group, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), was attacking churches and Christians in the country in order to create the impression that there was a crisis between various religious groups.
. ‘We want to say once again that Nigeria does not have a policy that denies people the freedom to practice their religion,” Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed said in London yesterday.
Mohammed who is in London for engagements with international media as well as some relevant Non-Governmental-Organisations added: ”You will recall that only a few months ago Nigeria was taken out of the list of countries of particular concern because it was proven that there is no iota of truth in the allegation that Christians or any religion was being persecuted or people were not allowed to practice the religion of their choice,
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”The country also does not have a policy of violation freedom of religion and it is not true that Nigeria persecutes anybody on account of his or her faith,” he said.
The minister noted that the 1999 Constitution guarantees the right of everyone to practice his own faith without molestation.
He said most commentators who were not well versed in the politics and happenings in Nigeria took criminalities and communal clashes as issues of religious persecution.
Mohammed said: “Nobody in Nigeria is being persecuted But we have issues of criminality going on and the criminals really do not make the distinction of any religion.
“They kidnap for money, they hold people on ransom irrespective of their religion and there are some issues pf communal matters dating back to many years.
“If statistics are to be taken, I can say confidently say that as many Muslims and Christians have been victims of these criminals.”
He, however, said that the government had mounted; large-scale military operations to wipe out the criminals.
“What ISWAP is doing is that because of their dwindling influence. They are now attacking churches and Christians in order to create a crisis between various religious groups..But as a government, we are after them,” he said.
The minister accused some NGOs of feeding the international community with wrong information to get funds from donors.
The minister solicited support from multilateral organisations and foreign countries in tackling the challenges if insecurity in the country.
The U.S had in December 2020 listed Nigeria among the countries blacklisted for “violating religious freedom” under the CPC designation. Nigeria was however delisted in November 2021.