…Says ‘No Christian, Muslim is persecuted in Nigeria’
The Federal Government, yesterday, condemned the call by five United States (US) Republican Senators requesting for the re-designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern because of alleged persecution of Christians.
The Senators, who made the call in a letter to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, also alleged violation of freedom of Christians’ rights to practice their religion.
However, responding to the allegation in an interview with the newsmen in London, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the call was based on a false premise and misunderstanding of what was going on in the country.
The minister is in the United Kingdom for engagements with international media as well as some relevant Non-Governmental-Organisations, (NGOs).
Mohammed noted that the country’s Constitution guarantees the right of anybody to practice his or her faith without molestation, adding that the Government has always safeguarded the constitutional provision jealously. 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. “Nobody in Nigeria is being persecuted. But we have issues of criminality going on, and the criminals really do not make a distinction of any religion”, he stated.
According to the minister, the only known group that targeted Christians was the Islamic State’s West Africa Province, (ISWAP). He, however, said that the Federal Government had mounted large-scale military operations to wipe out the criminals and it is yielding results. Mohammed said some NGOs were also feeding the international community with wrong information to get funds from donors.
He reiterated that the two major religions in Nigeria, Islam and Christianity are also collaborating to find a solution to the crisis and bring peace and calm, and gave the example of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, (NIREC), which is working to foster unity and better understanding between the Christian and Islamic faiths.
The minister solicited support from multilateral organisations and foreign countries in tackling the challenges of insecurity.
