- Wants US to pause any planned intervention for 100 days
- Says service chiefs who don’t deliver after 90 days should be fired
- Trump wrong to introduce religion into Nigeria’s security challenges – Mustapha
The General Overseer Of The Redeemed Christian Church Of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Yesterday Weighed In On The US Threat Against Nigeria.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to act swiftly, wisely, and diplomatically to address the issues surrounding the alleged Christian genocide in the country.
He spoke during this month’s Holy Ghost Service at the Redemption City camp ground in Ogun State.
A think tank, the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), said President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) stemmed from “jaundiced, obtrusive data provided by local and international groups with ulterior motives.”
Chairman of IMPI, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, accused Intersociety, a local NGO, and Open Doors, a Christian charity, as two of the entities that have been “spawning false data to misrepresent the security situation in Nigeria.”
Adeboye asked the federal government to adopt a balanced and strategic approach to the security challenges.
“If I am asked to make suggestions, I will say quietly to the governments to move wisely, diplomatically,” he said.
He added: “Find a way to convince the President of America to please delay his actions for about 100 days, and then come home and tell our security chiefs to get rid of these terrorists within 90 days or resign.”
He recalled a similar directive issued by former President Muhammadu Buhari, which he said was not effectively followed through.
“There was a President, Buhari, who issued such an order. He called the service chiefs together and said, ‘Get rid of these Boko Haram people or resign.’
“He ran with that advice, but he did not follow through because he gave the order as the Commander, but he did not follow up.
“The work was not done after three months, so I went to see him. I asked him, ‘Why did you not proceed with your threat?’
Adeboye said the fight against terrorism by the Tinubu Administration should not only target the foot soldiers but also their financiers and backers.
His words: “When giving orders to the service chiefs this time around, he should make it clear to them they are not only to eliminate the terrorists but also eliminate the sponsors, no matter how influential they may be.”
He also told government to be wary of offer of support from foreign countries as none would come to Nigeria’s rescue when the chips are down.
“When I say our leaders should move diplomatically, we must take note of the fact that if America should attack us, China is not coming to defend us. Likewise Russia and Britain.
“All the so-called world leaders, they will talk and condemn what America has done, but they won’t help us.”
‘Trump, you’re wrong to introduce religion into Nigeria’s security challenge’
A fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mustapha Isah, faulted what he termed Trump’s introduction of religion into Nigeria’s security challenge.
Isah in a statement yesterday said the US president’s framing the current security challenges in the country as driven by religion was way off the mark as Christians, Muslims, animists and atheists have all been victims of insecurity in Nigeria.
Isah said there is abundant evidence to show that the Islamic fundamentalists terrorising parts of the country “do not have respect for the religious affiliation of their victims.”
“It is on record that Boko Haram insurgents have attacked several Mosques and killed thousands of Muslims in Borno, Yobe, Kano and Adamawa, while bandits have decimated hundreds of Muslims in Zamfara, Sokoto and Niger states,” he said.
“If the motive of the insurgents and bandits is to wipe out Christians as alleged by Trump, why are they also killing Muslims? This is to show that their motive goes beyond religion.
“The aim of the Islamic terrorists is to set up a Muslim theocratic enclave in northern Nigeria and are determined to crush anyone who opposes them, Christians and Muslims alike.
“There shouldn’t be a debate as to whether Muslims or Christians are being killed in Nigeria. No innocent life should be cut short by any violent group. It is the responsibility of the government to protect the life of every Nigerian.
“Humanity is diminished when life is lost unjustly. In spite of the defective nature of the 1999 consideration (as amended), it recognises the fact that the number one priority of government is the protection of life and property.
“No nation is completely immune from violence. The US itself experiences attacks on places of worship including churches, mosques and synagogues. But the perpetrators of such heinous crimes are swiftly brought to justice.
“But why is it so difficult for the government in Nigeria to bring the perpetrators of the killings justice? “
How Trump got his decision wrong – IMPI
The IMPI expressed concern over what it called the circulation of falsehoods which led to the US action against Nigeria.
It said: ”Long before this official response, merchants of tainted data had populated the social media space with obtrusive figures.
“The International Society for the Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) reported that 5,068 Christians were massacred in Nigeria in 2022, while Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List reported that 5,014 Christians were killed for their faith in Nigeria in 2022, more than in the rest of the world combined.
“Those figures definitely did not portray the reality on the ground.
“In contrast to the figures being bandied by these NGOs, the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) for 2022 noted that there were 6,701 deaths from terrorism globally, a 9% decrease from the previous year and 38% lower than the 2015 peak.
“The number of terrorism incidents globally also fell by nearly 28%, from 5,463 in 2021 to 3,955 in 2022, while deaths in Nigeria dropped to 392 in 2022, the lowest level since 2011.
“However, fatalities increased by 34 per cent in 2023 to 533, and further to 565 in 2024, but not anywhere near the inflated figures generated by Intersociety, which reported that 8,222 Christians were killed in Nigeria in the 12 months between January 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024, describing it as the ‘deadliest in recent years’.
“Open Doors also reported that 82% of the 4,998 Christians killed globally for faith-related reasons in 2023 occurred in Nigeria, while the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) recorded 1,637 deaths of Christians between April and June 2023 alone.
“The trend continued in 2024 with this same set of advocacy groups providing higher figures for faith-related killings. A report from Open Doors claimed that 3,100 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2024.
“According to the group, this made it the country with the most Christians killed globally for faith-based reasons that year.
“Another source published in August 2024 documented at least 7,087 Christians massacred in the first 220 days of the year (Humanangle.com, 2025).
“However, the Global Terrorism Index reported a fatality figure of 565 for 2024. This speaks to the industry of falsehood underpinning the advocacy to get Nigeria redesignated as a CPC.
“Yet, while we condemn any loss of life, the practical reality is that the data provided by GTI and Statista cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be described as genocide.
“Based on this background, we find it challenging to accept US President Trump’s decision to designate Nigeria as a CPC based on fictitious data circulated by a collection of NGOs.
“We expect the US to verify and validate any data presented to President Trump before using it to make a decision.”
In tracking InterSociety’s activities, IMPI said its researchers found that the group had since 2019 been cooking false data on what it called “Christian deaths” that were never in tandem with the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) and other reports on lethal violence in Nigeria.
“We note that in 2019, the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) reported a 39.1% decrease in terrorism deaths in Nigeria, from 2,043 in 2018 to 1,245 in 2019. The decline in fatalities, according to GTI, was primarily due to a fall in violence linked to Fulani extremists, despite a slight increase in common killings, the lowest since 2011.
“The GTI data is validated by Statista.com (Sasu, 2024). Though this 2019 terrorism data is in the public domain, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), a Nigerian Human Rights NGO in Anambra State, claimed there were between 1,000 and 1,200 “Christian deaths” in the same year.
“Another data contained in the ‘Ninth Annual Report on Lethal Violence in Nigeria’, which covers the period between January 1 and December 31, 2019, was collected by Vitus Nwankwo Ukoji, with the help of Abiola Victoria Ayodokun and Victor Chinedu Eze of the University of Ibadan, wherein the researchers submitted that fatalities from lethal incidents inched up by 5.6% in 2019 after a 1.4% decline. According to the Report, there were 11,277 violent deaths in 2019.
“The import here is that Intersociety attributed virtually all reported fatalities to Christian deaths. This is an example of the deliberate inflation of data regarding killings in Nigeria to in part inflame divisive passion among the people, and to justify the designation of the country as a CPC by the American government.
“The groups momentarily had their way in 2020, when, against all statistical sequences indicating a reduction in terrorism-related killings, especially those linked to religious conflicts, Trump, in the fourth year of his first term, declared and designated Nigeria as a CPC.
“It was a very questionable decision, given the declining number of terrorism-related deaths,” it said.
IMPI added that a better understanding of the situation in Nigeria through government-to-government engagement would lead to the US withdrawing Nigeria from its CPC list.
Kano protesters to Trump: No Christian genocide in Nigeria
Hundreds of Kano residents yesterday stormed the streets in an anti–Trump protest over the recent pronouncements of the US government on Nigeria.
The protesters, in a video circulating online, carried placards, chanting anti-US slogans.
The protesters moved from the Kano Central Mosque to Sabon Gari under the watch of security personnel.
There was no ugly incident while it lasted.
Mustapha calls for collective effort
The immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, urged Nigerians to work together to address the country’s persistent security challenges in order to ensure peace and stability.
Mustapha, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt yesterday, said that the security challenges and agitations were becoming pandemic across the Sub-Saharan region which collective responsibility was needed to ensure peace in the region.
Mustapha, who was in Port Harcourt for the National Conference of the Full Gospel Business Men Fellowship (FGBMF), expressed concern over the security situation in the country, describing it as a recurring issue that has persisted across multiple administrations.
He explained that the administrations included those of Presidents Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu, adding that Nigeria’s security challenge was not new.
He recalled that during President Buhari’s administration, the government engaged with the Office of the Secretary of State (United States of America) through the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
He explained that the engagement was to address concerns raised by the international community, particularly USA, over the security situation in Nigeria.
Mustapha noted that the government was able to convince the US government that its concerns were being addressed, leading to the country being removed from a list of countries with religious freedom concerns in 2021.
He emphasised the need for Nigeria to deploy all its diplomatic resources to engage with other nations and attract investments.
“Security is a collective effort that requires intelligence gathering, dissemination and harmonisation of approaches,” he said.
