The Federal Government on Sunday dismissed claims by some international platforms and online commentators that terrorists in Nigeria are carrying out a systematic genocide against Christians.<\/p>\n
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Sunday, described the claims as false, divisive and harmful to Nigeria\u2019s peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Federal Government strongly condemns and categorically refutes recent allegations by certain international platforms and online influencers suggesting that terrorists operating in Nigeria are engaged in a systematic genocide against Christians.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch claims are false, baseless, despicable, and divisive,\u201d Idris said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that Nigeria\u2019s security challenges should not be misrepresented as religiously motivated.<\/p>\n
\u201cPortraying Nigeria\u2019s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Nigeria, like many countries, has faced security challenges, including acts of terrorism perpetrated by criminals, couching the situation as a deliberate, systematic attack on Christians is inaccurate and harmful,\u201d the minister added.<\/p>\n
He stressed that Nigeria\u2019s security challenges should not be misrepresented as religiously motivated.<\/p>\n
\u201cPortraying Nigeria\u2019s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Nigeria, like many countries, has faced security challenges, including acts of terrorism perpetrated by criminals, couching the situation as a deliberate, systematic attack on Christians is inaccurate and harmful,\u201d the minister added.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly last month, the top leadership of Jama\u2019atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan \u2014 commonly known as ANSARU \u2014 was captured in a well-coordinated counter-terrorism operation,\u201d the statement noted.<\/p>\n
Idris further explained that over 700 convictions had been secured in the prosecution of Boko Haram suspects.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the fight against terrorism, Nigeria has made significant strides in prosecuting Boko Haram suspects.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo date, we have successfully prosecuted seven batches of suspects, securing over 700 convictions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He dismissed the genocide narrative as a distortion of Nigeria\u2019s multi-religious reality, adding that the country\u2019s leadership reflected inclusivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristianity is neither endangered nor marginalised in Nigeria. It is doubtful that foreign interlopers into Nigerian affairs are aware that the current heads of both the Armed Forces and the Police Force are Christians, a fact that underscores the inclusivity of our national leadership,\u201d Idris stressed.<\/p>\n
The minister also pointed to international recognition of Nigeria\u2019s interfaith harmony.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn March of this year, the inaugural Commonwealth Peace Prize was awarded to two Nigerian religious leaders, Rev. Dr. James Movel Wuye and Imam Dr. Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa, co-founders of the Interfaith Mediation Centre,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He urged international media and commentators to avoid sensationalism and divisive rhetoric, and instead support Nigeria\u2019s efforts against terrorism.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe urge the international media and other commentators to act with responsibility and have respect for facts.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll stakeholders are advised to avoid ignorance, sensationalism, and divisive rhetoric, and instead support Nigeria\u2019s ongoing efforts in the fight against terrorism and all forms of criminality,\u201d Idris added.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Federal Government on Sunday dismissed claims by some international platforms and online commentators that terrorists in Nigeria are carrying out a systematic genocide against Christians. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Sunday, described the claims as false, divisive and harmful to Nigeria\u2019s peace. \u201cThe Federal Government strongly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67315,"featured_media":348368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/67315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=348337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":348370,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348337\/revisions\/348370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/348368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=348337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=348337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=348337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}