Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has refuted claims that Christians are being systematically persecuted in Nigeria, describing such allegations as false and misleading.
Gatekeepers News reports that his response follows comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who reportedly directed the Pentagon to prepare for action in Nigeria over alleged killings of Christians.
Trump had warned that if the Nigerian government failed to end the attacks, the United States would launch strikes that would be “fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs who attack our cherished Christians.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Keyamo said Trump’s remarks were based on false information. The minister noted that he had devoted much of his career to promoting human rights.
He said, “In 2017, right there in Washington, I was found worthy to be awarded the Global Human Rights Award by the United States Global Leadership Council, which had the eminent Dr Reuben Egolf as its chairman at the time.”
“This was in recognition of my work over the years in the promotion of the rights of the downtrodden people. I was also born and raised as a Christian in Nigeria.”
Keyamo noted that his faith and moral convictions would never allow him to serve in a government that targets Christians.
He said, “It would have been most unconscionable for me to associate with – let alone accept to serve or continue to serve – a government if truly there is any scintilla of truth in the assertion that Christians are specifically targeted in Nigeria for persecution, killings or harassment on account of their faith. It is simply not true.”
The minister said Nigeria’s security challenges stem from decades-old problems involving violent groups such as Boko Haram and armed herders, adding that President Bola Tinubu has made progress in addressing them.
He said, “These decades-old problems were inherited by our president who has made great progress in the fight against these insurgents.”
According to Keyamo, the claim of anti-Christian persecution is baseless, as most of the security chiefs appointed by President Tinubu are Christians.
He said, “In fact, most of the security chiefs appointed by him are Christians, so it would be unthinkable to imagine them being complicit in the killing of fellow Christians in Nigeria.”
Describing Tinubu as a moderate Muslim, Keyamo said the president’s family reflects Nigeria’s religious diversity.
He said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria, though a Muslim, is a known ‘moderate’, whose wife is a pastor of one of the biggest Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria and most of his children are practising Christians.”
“When he was Governor of Lagos State, he regularly invited Christian pastors for prayers and worship sessions at the government house. He will be the last person to either adopt the killing of Christians as a state policy, or condone such acts or be complicit in them.”
He stressed that Nigeria remains a secular nation, as enshrined in its constitution saying, “Nigeria is a secular state and our constitution explicitly provides for freedom of religion and prohibits the adoption of a state religion, reflecting its status as a multi-faith nation.”
Keyamo further noted that insecurity in Nigeria affects all citizens, regardless of faith.
He added that the insecurity in some parts of the country over the years has impacted adherents of all religions and this government has not sought to protect one set of adherents and ignore the others.”
Keyamo also observed that even opposition leaders in Nigeria agree that there is no targeted killing of Christians. He said, “Ordinarily, opposition politicians will oppose the government of the day. But on this matter, President Trump, you would have observed that leaders of the opposition parties in Nigeria are united on one point: there is no targeted killing of Christians in Nigeria.”
The minister appealed to the U.S. government to work with Nigeria in tackling terrorism rather than relying on distorted information.
He said, “President Trump, the Nigerian people ask for deep and sincere understanding from your government at this point.”
“The Nigerian people ask for support and cooperation from your government at this point to confront this decades-old menace of terrorism. We ask for collaboration.”
“We ask for frank and open dialogue at this time with your government. We ask that you broaden your sources of information so as to get a balanced view of the happenings in Nigeria.”
