In Abuja, rising cases of “one chance” taxi crimes inspired Monsurah Oluwafuyi and her team to launch HerRyde in 2022. The women-only ride platform connects verified female drivers with female passengers. HerRyde completed over 2,000 trips and empowered women with financial independence. However, the platform suspended operations after a year due to financial constraints.
Friday, November 7, 2025
Video - Nigeria’s women-only ride app faces roadblocks
In Abuja, rising cases of “one chance” taxi crimes inspired Monsurah Oluwafuyi and her team to launch HerRyde in 2022. The women-only ride platform connects verified female drivers with female passengers. HerRyde completed over 2,000 trips and empowered women with financial independence. However, the platform suspended operations after a year due to financial constraints.
Central Nigerian town rebuilds religious trust in shadow of Trump's threat
Nigeria, a west African country of 230 million people, is roughly evenly split between a mostly Christian south and a Muslim-majority north. It is home to myriad conflicts, including jihadist insurgency, that experts say kill both Christians and Muslims, often without distinction.
But Trump has ordered a military intervention in Nigeria to halt what he says are killings of Christians "in very large numbers" by radical Islamists.
Mangu, a small rustic town in Nigeria's central Plateau state located 250 kilometres from the capital Abuja, was the scene of deadly clashes that targeted both Christians and Muslims last year.
Since then community leaders hold regular dialogues to forestall a recurrence.
For decades, Mangu mostly escaped the intercommunal violence that often erupts elsewhere in Nigeria's central "Middle Belt" farming region.
Many of the conflicts in the region have their roots in tensions over land between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farmers, as the impact of climate change threatens agricultural livelihoods.
Mangu's Muslims and Christians mostly belong to the Mwaghavul tribe, and have lived side by side for decades before the 2024 violence.
The town's central mosque was located in the Christian-dominated district, and the town's biggest church once stood in a Muslim-majority quarter.
Both yellow buildings were torched and destroyed when the farming town of around 300,000 people was ravaged as assailants raided rival districts with guns and machetes after a dispute over land, water and cattle grazing, in January last year.
Twenty-two months later, the charred walls of Umar bin Khatab Juma'at mosque and a roofless and windowless Cocin Kwhagas Lahir church -- still stand as a reminder of the day the town temporarily lost its peace.
"We thank God for the relative peace that has reigned in Mangu," said resident Muhammad Kamilu Aliu, 37, at a hardware market. "There is no more crisis here again".
District head Moses Dawop, underlines the "peace we have been crying for is gaining ground".
Across Mangu, Muslims and Christians are back to doing business together, with religious and community leaders intent on rebuilding trust in the community.
Mangu's main market is abuzz with sellers and buyers mingling while elsewhere on the town's dusty streets, children play, rolling disused motorcycle tyres.
But the local chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Timothy Samson Dalang, and the town's main imam, Ibrahim Hudu Manomi, say that there is still much to be done.
"We've been working day and night to see how we can get ourselves back to the former self that we used to be, as peaceful as we used to be," Manomi said.
For Dalang, cooperation among the religious leaders has been instrumental in thwarting attempts by "hoodlums who are bent to sabotage the peace process" for "selfish reasons."
Rebuilding homes, places of worship and schools torched during the unrest is also taking time.
Leaders want to restore trust first among the followers of the two religions to pre-conflict levels before reconstruction can take place.
Nigerians are wary of Trump's threat to strike radical Islamists.
For many in this central state -- a hotbed of inter-communal violence -- religious persecution is an alien concept and they fear that the White House narrative could roll back years of peacebuilding.
Trump's allegations of Christian persecution will "take us back to square one," said Ghazali Isma'ila Adam, the chief imam of the Plateau state capital Jos.
Jihadists "attack everybody, be it Muslims, Christians, pagans," said Idris Suleiman Gimba, 54, a Muslim restaurateur in northeastern Borno State's capital city, Maiduguri, the epicentre of the 16-year-long jihadist insurgency.
Gimba lost 10 family members in a mosque bombing in neighbouring Yobe State in 2014, during the height of the conflict.
Saidu Sufi, a political science teacher in northwestern Kano state, said terrorists and bandits often hide under religion to carry out their criminal activities.
"We have seen in parts of the northwest where bandits use religious cover by starting their campaign of violence by quoting scripture," Sufi said. "But it is not religious."
For Adams Mamza, 28, a Christian Maiduguri resident working for a car rental firm, Trump's intervention is only welcome if "they can target it on these bandits, Boko Haram, the insurgents."
President Bola Tinubu told his ministers on Thursday as cabinet met for the first time since Trump's threats, that "we want our friends to help us as we step up our fight against terrorism, and we will eliminate it".
But Trump has ordered a military intervention in Nigeria to halt what he says are killings of Christians "in very large numbers" by radical Islamists.
Mangu, a small rustic town in Nigeria's central Plateau state located 250 kilometres from the capital Abuja, was the scene of deadly clashes that targeted both Christians and Muslims last year.
Since then community leaders hold regular dialogues to forestall a recurrence.
For decades, Mangu mostly escaped the intercommunal violence that often erupts elsewhere in Nigeria's central "Middle Belt" farming region.
Many of the conflicts in the region have their roots in tensions over land between Muslim herders and mostly Christian farmers, as the impact of climate change threatens agricultural livelihoods.
Mangu's Muslims and Christians mostly belong to the Mwaghavul tribe, and have lived side by side for decades before the 2024 violence.
The town's central mosque was located in the Christian-dominated district, and the town's biggest church once stood in a Muslim-majority quarter.
Both yellow buildings were torched and destroyed when the farming town of around 300,000 people was ravaged as assailants raided rival districts with guns and machetes after a dispute over land, water and cattle grazing, in January last year.
Twenty-two months later, the charred walls of Umar bin Khatab Juma'at mosque and a roofless and windowless Cocin Kwhagas Lahir church -- still stand as a reminder of the day the town temporarily lost its peace.
"We thank God for the relative peace that has reigned in Mangu," said resident Muhammad Kamilu Aliu, 37, at a hardware market. "There is no more crisis here again".
District head Moses Dawop, underlines the "peace we have been crying for is gaining ground".
Across Mangu, Muslims and Christians are back to doing business together, with religious and community leaders intent on rebuilding trust in the community.
Mangu's main market is abuzz with sellers and buyers mingling while elsewhere on the town's dusty streets, children play, rolling disused motorcycle tyres.
But the local chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Timothy Samson Dalang, and the town's main imam, Ibrahim Hudu Manomi, say that there is still much to be done.
"We've been working day and night to see how we can get ourselves back to the former self that we used to be, as peaceful as we used to be," Manomi said.
For Dalang, cooperation among the religious leaders has been instrumental in thwarting attempts by "hoodlums who are bent to sabotage the peace process" for "selfish reasons."
Rebuilding homes, places of worship and schools torched during the unrest is also taking time.
Leaders want to restore trust first among the followers of the two religions to pre-conflict levels before reconstruction can take place.
Nigerians are wary of Trump's threat to strike radical Islamists.
For many in this central state -- a hotbed of inter-communal violence -- religious persecution is an alien concept and they fear that the White House narrative could roll back years of peacebuilding.
Trump's allegations of Christian persecution will "take us back to square one," said Ghazali Isma'ila Adam, the chief imam of the Plateau state capital Jos.
Jihadists "attack everybody, be it Muslims, Christians, pagans," said Idris Suleiman Gimba, 54, a Muslim restaurateur in northeastern Borno State's capital city, Maiduguri, the epicentre of the 16-year-long jihadist insurgency.
Gimba lost 10 family members in a mosque bombing in neighbouring Yobe State in 2014, during the height of the conflict.
Saidu Sufi, a political science teacher in northwestern Kano state, said terrorists and bandits often hide under religion to carry out their criminal activities.
"We have seen in parts of the northwest where bandits use religious cover by starting their campaign of violence by quoting scripture," Sufi said. "But it is not religious."
For Adams Mamza, 28, a Christian Maiduguri resident working for a car rental firm, Trump's intervention is only welcome if "they can target it on these bandits, Boko Haram, the insurgents."
President Bola Tinubu told his ministers on Thursday as cabinet met for the first time since Trump's threats, that "we want our friends to help us as we step up our fight against terrorism, and we will eliminate it".
Thursday, November 6, 2025
Video - Abuja conference seeks faith-based solutions to insecurity in West Africa
Religious leaders and policymakers from across West Africa are in Abuja, Nigeria for a three-day conference on peace and security. The forum, hosted by the Economic Community of West African States and Jam’iyyatu Ansariddeen, a global Islamic organisation, seeks non-military solutions to extremism by promoting education, moral values, and youth inclusion. The conference aims to produce a roadmap for peace that makes faith a force for unity.
Emirates to resume Nigeria flights after nearly two years
Dubai's Emirates airline will resume flight schedules to Nigeria from Oct. 1, it said on Thursday, ending a close to two-year halt to flights.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) stopped issuing visas to Nigerians in 2022 after Emirates suspended flights between the nations because of an inability to repatriate funds from Nigeria.
"We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria. We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back on board,"
The Lagos-Dubai service has been popular with Nigerian customers in the past and Emirates said it hopes to reconnect travellers to Dubai and onwards to more than 140 destination with its resumption of services.
The resumption of schedules also includes cargo flights, the statement said.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) stopped issuing visas to Nigerians in 2022 after Emirates suspended flights between the nations because of an inability to repatriate funds from Nigeria.
"We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria. We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back on board,"
Adnan Kazim, the airline's deputy president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement.
The Lagos-Dubai service has been popular with Nigerian customers in the past and Emirates said it hopes to reconnect travellers to Dubai and onwards to more than 140 destination with its resumption of services.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met last September in Abu Dhabi and discussed the lifting of the visa ban and new investments into Africa's most populous country.
The resumption of schedules also includes cargo flights, the statement said.
By Ope Adetayo, Reuters
Nigeria, WHO and Partners Reaffirm Commitment to End All Forms of Polio by 2030
Abuja, Nigeria, in collaboration with WHO and other partners, is intensifying efforts to eradicate all forms of polio by 2030 through government leadership, community engagement, and targeted vaccination campaigns.
Renewed Commitment on World Polio Day
Every year on 24 October, the global community reaffirms its commitment to eradicating poliomyelitis—a disease that can cause paralysis and, in some cases, death.
Although Nigeria successfully eradicated wild poliovirus in 2020, the experiences of survivors like Hassana Mohammed Bunur from Borno State serve as a reminder of the remaining challenge: eliminating circulating variant poliovirus type 2 (cVPV2), which still exists in parts of the country.
For Hassana Mohammed Bunur and Bukar Modu—both polio survivors—the fight to end polio is deeply personal. Hassana, who contracted the disease as a toddler, now uses a wheelchair and champions vaccination in her community. Bukar, 45, reflects,
“Had I been vaccinated; my life would be very different. But I can use my voice to protect others.”
Their experiences highlight the importance of immunisation and the power of advocacy in building a polio-free future.
Every year on 24 October, the global community reaffirms its commitment to eradicating poliomyelitis—a disease that can cause paralysis and, in some cases, death.
Although Nigeria successfully eradicated wild poliovirus in 2020, the experiences of survivors like Hassana Mohammed Bunur from Borno State serve as a reminder of the remaining challenge: eliminating circulating variant poliovirus type 2 (cVPV2), which still exists in parts of the country.
For Hassana Mohammed Bunur and Bukar Modu—both polio survivors—the fight to end polio is deeply personal. Hassana, who contracted the disease as a toddler, now uses a wheelchair and champions vaccination in her community. Bukar, 45, reflects,
“Had I been vaccinated; my life would be very different. But I can use my voice to protect others.”
Their experiences highlight the importance of immunisation and the power of advocacy in building a polio-free future.
Government Leadership Sustaining Progress
The Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOH) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), continues to demonstrate strong leadership in sustaining polio eradication gains.
Nigeria remains committed to halting all poliovirus transmission by 2030, investing in surveillance, routine immunisation, and supplementary immunisation activities (SIAs). Polio vaccination has been integrated with broader health initiatives through campaigns and community outreach to reach all eligible children.
The 2025 Measles–Rubella and Polio Vaccination Campaign aims to immunise over 106 million children, making it one of Africa’s largest immunisation efforts.
The Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOH) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), continues to demonstrate strong leadership in sustaining polio eradication gains.
Nigeria remains committed to halting all poliovirus transmission by 2030, investing in surveillance, routine immunisation, and supplementary immunisation activities (SIAs). Polio vaccination has been integrated with broader health initiatives through campaigns and community outreach to reach all eligible children.
The 2025 Measles–Rubella and Polio Vaccination Campaign aims to immunise over 106 million children, making it one of Africa’s largest immunisation efforts.
Eradicating All Forms of the Virus
While Nigeria remains free of wild poliovirus, cVPV2 cases persist. According to national surveillance data: As of 20 October 2024, 112 cases were recorded across 15 states.
In the same period in 2025, 66 cVPV2 cases were reported from 44 LGAs in 12 states—a 41% reduction, indicating progress in interrupting transmission.
While Nigeria remains free of wild poliovirus, cVPV2 cases persist. According to national surveillance data: As of 20 October 2024, 112 cases were recorded across 15 states.
In the same period in 2025, 66 cVPV2 cases were reported from 44 LGAs in 12 states—a 41% reduction, indicating progress in interrupting transmission.
Collective Commitment and Partner Support
WHO, in collaboration with national and international partners under the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), supports Nigeria’s eradication efforts through:
• Technical assistance for planning and executing immunisation campaigns
• Logistical coordination to deliver vaccines to hard-to-reach areas
• Capacity-building for health workers in surveillance and outbreak response
• Data review mechanisms to identify gaps and guide corrective actions, including redeploying vaccination teams to missed settlements, strengthening social mobilisation, adjusting supply chains, and conducting targeted mop-ups to ensure no child is left behind
These efforts are complemented by partners including Rotary International, the Gates Foundation, Chigari Foundation, UNICEF, and others, who contribute to microplanning, social mobilisation, surveillance, and evidence-based decision-making.
WHO, in collaboration with national and international partners under the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), supports Nigeria’s eradication efforts through:
• Technical assistance for planning and executing immunisation campaigns
• Logistical coordination to deliver vaccines to hard-to-reach areas
• Capacity-building for health workers in surveillance and outbreak response
• Data review mechanisms to identify gaps and guide corrective actions, including redeploying vaccination teams to missed settlements, strengthening social mobilisation, adjusting supply chains, and conducting targeted mop-ups to ensure no child is left behind
These efforts are complemented by partners including Rotary International, the Gates Foundation, Chigari Foundation, UNICEF, and others, who contribute to microplanning, social mobilisation, surveillance, and evidence-based decision-making.
Community Engagement Across States
Across Nigeria, WHO state offices joined government agencies, partners, and communities in commemorating World Polio Day, renewing advocacy for vaccination and stronger surveillance.
In Taraba State, the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Buma Bordiya, emphasized the state’s commitment during a press briefing in Jalingo:
“On World Polio Day 2025, we renew our collective commitment to reach every child, with every vaccine, everywhere—until polio is gone for good.”
• In Taraba State, over 2.3 million children received at least one dose of the polio vaccine during April and June SIAs.
• In Gombe, a 3 km awareness walk was held in collaboration with NYSC, Rotary, and others.
• In Ebonyi, the Commissioner of Health expressed gratitude to the Government of Nigeria, WHO, and partners for supporting child vaccination.
• In Kano, over 500 participants—including health officials, traditional leaders, and polio survivors—attended a commemorative event. The Chairman of the Polio Survivors Association urged continued advocacy and inclusion of survivors in outreach efforts.
Other states including Kwara, Kebbi, Kaduna, and Zamfara held similar events to reaffirm their commitment to reaching every child.
Across Nigeria, WHO state offices joined government agencies, partners, and communities in commemorating World Polio Day, renewing advocacy for vaccination and stronger surveillance.
In Taraba State, the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Buma Bordiya, emphasized the state’s commitment during a press briefing in Jalingo:
“On World Polio Day 2025, we renew our collective commitment to reach every child, with every vaccine, everywhere—until polio is gone for good.”
• In Taraba State, over 2.3 million children received at least one dose of the polio vaccine during April and June SIAs.
• In Gombe, a 3 km awareness walk was held in collaboration with NYSC, Rotary, and others.
• In Ebonyi, the Commissioner of Health expressed gratitude to the Government of Nigeria, WHO, and partners for supporting child vaccination.
• In Kano, over 500 participants—including health officials, traditional leaders, and polio survivors—attended a commemorative event. The Chairman of the Polio Survivors Association urged continued advocacy and inclusion of survivors in outreach efforts.
Other states including Kwara, Kebbi, Kaduna, and Zamfara held similar events to reaffirm their commitment to reaching every child.
A Future Without Polio
For Hassana and other polio survivors, the fight against polio is deeply personal.
“If I had been vaccinated, my life would be very different,” reflects Bukar Modu, a 45-year-old polio survivor. “But I can use my voice to make sure no other child suffers as I did. Polio is still a threat, but vaccines save lives.”
Reaffirming WHO’s continued support, Dr. Kofi Boateng, Polio Eradication Programme Cluster Lead, emphasized:
“The only reason the poliovirus continues to circulate is because some children remain unvaccinated. The vaccine is safe and effective, and every child must be protected.”
For Hassana and other polio survivors, the fight against polio is deeply personal.
“If I had been vaccinated, my life would be very different,” reflects Bukar Modu, a 45-year-old polio survivor. “But I can use my voice to make sure no other child suffers as I did. Polio is still a threat, but vaccines save lives.”
Reaffirming WHO’s continued support, Dr. Kofi Boateng, Polio Eradication Programme Cluster Lead, emphasized:
“The only reason the poliovirus continues to circulate is because some children remain unvaccinated. The vaccine is safe and effective, and every child must be protected.”
Staying the Course and Taking Action
Nigeria’s strong government leadership, community resilience, and sustained partner collaboration are ensuring the country remains firmly on course toward a polio-free future by 2030—one where every child, everywhere, is protected.
To achieve this goal, continued community participation, timely vaccination, and coordinated efforts from all stakeholders are essential. Every caregiver, health worker, and partner has a role to play in ending polio for good.
Nigeria’s strong government leadership, community resilience, and sustained partner collaboration are ensuring the country remains firmly on course toward a polio-free future by 2030—one where every child, everywhere, is protected.
To achieve this goal, continued community participation, timely vaccination, and coordinated efforts from all stakeholders are essential. Every caregiver, health worker, and partner has a role to play in ending polio for good.
Nigeria’s $300 Billion Oil Theft Scandal
Nigeria has lost $300 billion to oil theft, auditors appointed by the Nigerian parliament said this week. The oil was sold illegally both at home and abroad, the Senate committee tasked with investigating oil theft losses said, as cited by Nigerian media.
“The ad hoc committee should be given the mandate to track, trace, and recover all proceeds of stolen crude oil both locally and internationally, as forensic review by the consultant shows over $22 billion, $81 billion, and $200 billion remains unaccounted,” the chairmen of the committee, Senator Ned Nwoko, reported, as quoted by Premium Times.
The report presented to Nigeria’s Senate was interim, meaning the final tally of oil theft losses could end up being even higher. The committee also proposed that the government set up a special court to prosecute oil thieves and use state money to reduce pipeline sabotage.
Oil theft and pipeline vandalism related to it have plagued Nigeria for decades, in recent years, interfering with state plans to reverse a decline in production. The country’s oil output peaked around 2 million barrels daily back in 2016 and has been shrinking since then.
Pipeline vandalism and oil theft are two reasons for this, as they discourage additional investments that are much needed for a reversal in production trends. Another reason has been Big Oil's strategy that has seen the supermajors curb their presence in Nigeria in favor of other locations with better prospects.
This year has seen some success in reversing the decline, after Nigeria’s parliament finally passed an energy industry law years in the making, which aims to improve predictability for foreign investors in Nigeria’s oil industry.
A tax incentive initiative by President Bola Tinubu that came into effect earlier this year is also expected to help Nigeria boost its oil production by encouraging cost savings and efficiency improvements.
By Irina Slav, Oilprice.com
“The ad hoc committee should be given the mandate to track, trace, and recover all proceeds of stolen crude oil both locally and internationally, as forensic review by the consultant shows over $22 billion, $81 billion, and $200 billion remains unaccounted,” the chairmen of the committee, Senator Ned Nwoko, reported, as quoted by Premium Times.
The report presented to Nigeria’s Senate was interim, meaning the final tally of oil theft losses could end up being even higher. The committee also proposed that the government set up a special court to prosecute oil thieves and use state money to reduce pipeline sabotage.
Oil theft and pipeline vandalism related to it have plagued Nigeria for decades, in recent years, interfering with state plans to reverse a decline in production. The country’s oil output peaked around 2 million barrels daily back in 2016 and has been shrinking since then.
Pipeline vandalism and oil theft are two reasons for this, as they discourage additional investments that are much needed for a reversal in production trends. Another reason has been Big Oil's strategy that has seen the supermajors curb their presence in Nigeria in favor of other locations with better prospects.
This year has seen some success in reversing the decline, after Nigeria’s parliament finally passed an energy industry law years in the making, which aims to improve predictability for foreign investors in Nigeria’s oil industry.
A tax incentive initiative by President Bola Tinubu that came into effect earlier this year is also expected to help Nigeria boost its oil production by encouraging cost savings and efficiency improvements.
By Irina Slav, Oilprice.com
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
China opposes Trump’s threat against Nigeria, declares support for Nigerian Government
China has officially declared its opposition to US threats of sanctions or military actions against Nigeria over allegations of mass slaughter of Christians.
The Chinese government made its position known on Tuesday when Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning addressed a press conference in Beijing.
“As Nigeria’s comprehensive strategic partner, China firmly supports the Nigerian government in leading its people on the development path suited to its national conditions. China firmly opposes any country using religion and human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and threatening other countries with sanctions and force,” Ms Ning said, according to the transcript of the interview posted on the Chinese government’s website.
PREMIUM TIMES reported the threat by US President Donald Trump to either sanction Nigeria or use military action if the Nigerian government does not stop what US officials claim is a genocide against Nigerian Christians.
Mr Trump also designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and claimed that Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria, as radical Islamic groups were killing thousands of Christians.
This comes after weeks of campaigns and demands by some US lawmakers for the country to sanction Nigeria for allowing the “persecution of Christians.”
The officials had falsely accused the Nigerian government of facilitating an anti-Christian crusade in an attempt to rid the country of Christians.
The Nigerian government has, however, repeatedly denied the claims.
In a statement issued on Saturday, President Bola Tinubu rejected the assertion of an existential threat to the Nigerian Christian faith, noting that the country strictly upholds the constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.
He stated that the portrayals of Nigeria as facilitating Christian genocide “do not reflect our national reality.”
He emphasised that Nigeria “opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.”
Similarly, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that Nigeria is committed to tackling the violent extremism “fueled by special interests who have helped drive such decay and division in countries across the intersecting West African and Sahel regions.”
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” it said.
By Beloved John, Premium Times
The Chinese government made its position known on Tuesday when Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning addressed a press conference in Beijing.
“As Nigeria’s comprehensive strategic partner, China firmly supports the Nigerian government in leading its people on the development path suited to its national conditions. China firmly opposes any country using religion and human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and threatening other countries with sanctions and force,” Ms Ning said, according to the transcript of the interview posted on the Chinese government’s website.
PREMIUM TIMES reported the threat by US President Donald Trump to either sanction Nigeria or use military action if the Nigerian government does not stop what US officials claim is a genocide against Nigerian Christians.
Mr Trump also designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and claimed that Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria, as radical Islamic groups were killing thousands of Christians.
This comes after weeks of campaigns and demands by some US lawmakers for the country to sanction Nigeria for allowing the “persecution of Christians.”
The officials had falsely accused the Nigerian government of facilitating an anti-Christian crusade in an attempt to rid the country of Christians.
The Nigerian government has, however, repeatedly denied the claims.
In a statement issued on Saturday, President Bola Tinubu rejected the assertion of an existential threat to the Nigerian Christian faith, noting that the country strictly upholds the constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.
He stated that the portrayals of Nigeria as facilitating Christian genocide “do not reflect our national reality.”
He emphasised that Nigeria “opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.”
Similarly, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that Nigeria is committed to tackling the violent extremism “fueled by special interests who have helped drive such decay and division in countries across the intersecting West African and Sahel regions.”
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” it said.
By Beloved John, Premium Times
Nigeria pushes back on Trump’s claims over Christian killings
The Nigerian government has dismissed claims made by US President Donald Trump about the persecution of Christians in the West African nation, insisting that religious freedom is fully protected under the country’s constitution.
Responding to a reporter’s question at a news conference in Berlin on Tuesday, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar held up a document whose cover read “Nigeria’s Constitutional Commitment to Religious Freedom and Rule of Law”.
“All the answers are in there. This is what guides us,” Tuggar said, speaking alongside Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. “It’s impossible for there to be religious persecution that can be supported in any way, shape or form by the government of Nigeria at any level.”
Tuggar’s comments come after Trump wrote on social media on Saturday that if the Nigerian government “continues to allow the killing of Christians”, the US would stop all aid to the country. Trump added that he had instructed the so-called Department of War “to prepare for possible action”.
And on Sunday, Trump doubled down, saying Washington could deploy troops or conduct air strikes. “They are killing a record number of Christians in Nigeria,” he said. “We are not gonna allow that to happen.”
The threats came after the US president had redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern – a label the US government gives to countries seen as responsible for severe violations of religious freedom.
Trump’s assertions echo claims that have gained traction among right-wing and Christian evangelical circles in the past months. US Senator Ted Cruz, a Trump ally, blamed Nigerian officials for what he called “Christian massacres” and introduced in September the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, which, he said, aims to hold officials who “facilitate Islamic Jihadist violence and the imposition of blasphemy laws” accountable.
While admitting a problem with security issues, Nigerian officials rebuked Trump’s claims, saying that people across all faiths, not just Christians, are victims of armed groups’ violence. “The characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, a Muslim from southern Nigeria who is married to a Christian pastor.
About 238 million people live in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. Around 46 percent of the population is Muslim, largely residing in the north, and about 46 percent are Christian, mostly located in the south, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives.
For more than a decade, Boko Haram and other armed groups have clashed in the northeast, forcing millions of people from their homes. Since Tinubu took power two years ago, pledging stronger security, more than 10,000 people have been killed there, according to Amnesty International.
In the centre, there are increasing attacks on predominantly Christian farming communities by herders from the rival Fulani pastoral ethnic group, which is predominantly Muslim. The attacks there are mostly over access to water and pasture.
By Virginia Pietromarchi, Al Jazeera
Responding to a reporter’s question at a news conference in Berlin on Tuesday, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar held up a document whose cover read “Nigeria’s Constitutional Commitment to Religious Freedom and Rule of Law”.
“All the answers are in there. This is what guides us,” Tuggar said, speaking alongside Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. “It’s impossible for there to be religious persecution that can be supported in any way, shape or form by the government of Nigeria at any level.”
Tuggar’s comments come after Trump wrote on social media on Saturday that if the Nigerian government “continues to allow the killing of Christians”, the US would stop all aid to the country. Trump added that he had instructed the so-called Department of War “to prepare for possible action”.
And on Sunday, Trump doubled down, saying Washington could deploy troops or conduct air strikes. “They are killing a record number of Christians in Nigeria,” he said. “We are not gonna allow that to happen.”
The threats came after the US president had redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern – a label the US government gives to countries seen as responsible for severe violations of religious freedom.
Trump’s assertions echo claims that have gained traction among right-wing and Christian evangelical circles in the past months. US Senator Ted Cruz, a Trump ally, blamed Nigerian officials for what he called “Christian massacres” and introduced in September the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, which, he said, aims to hold officials who “facilitate Islamic Jihadist violence and the imposition of blasphemy laws” accountable.
While admitting a problem with security issues, Nigerian officials rebuked Trump’s claims, saying that people across all faiths, not just Christians, are victims of armed groups’ violence. “The characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, a Muslim from southern Nigeria who is married to a Christian pastor.
About 238 million people live in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. Around 46 percent of the population is Muslim, largely residing in the north, and about 46 percent are Christian, mostly located in the south, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives.
For more than a decade, Boko Haram and other armed groups have clashed in the northeast, forcing millions of people from their homes. Since Tinubu took power two years ago, pledging stronger security, more than 10,000 people have been killed there, according to Amnesty International.
In the centre, there are increasing attacks on predominantly Christian farming communities by herders from the rival Fulani pastoral ethnic group, which is predominantly Muslim. The attacks there are mostly over access to water and pasture.
Monday, November 3, 2025
Video - Nigeria-US tensions rise over religious killings claims
US President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Nigeria, accusing the government of failing to protect Christians. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu rejected the claims, saying insecurity affects all Nigerians regardless of faith and that freedom of worship is guaranteed.
Video - Trump threatens to launch attacks in Nigeria over ‘killing of Christians’
US President Donald Trump is threatening to send military forces into Nigeria, unless the government stops what he called the killings of Christians by terrorists. A few hours before Trump’s threat, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu released a statement stressing that his government “continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions”. Bulama Bukarti, a Nigerian humanitarian lawyer and analyst on conflict and development, told Al Jazeera that President Trump's claims are not credible.
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Nigeria rejects claims of Christian genocide as Trump mulls military action
Nigeria has said it would welcome assistance from the United States in fighting armed groups, as long as its territorial integrity is respected, as US President Donald Trump continued to threaten military action in the West African country over what he claimed was the persecution of Christians there.
Officials and experts in Nigeria on Sunday denied Trump’s claims of mass killings of Christians, noting that Boko Haram and al-Qaeda-linked groups target people of all faiths in Africa’s most populous country.
But Trump – who has directed his government to prepare for possible “fast” military action in Africa’s most populous country – doubled down on the threat on Sunday, saying he was he was considering a range of military options in Nigeria,
When asked by a reporter if he was considering US troops on the ground in Nigeria or air strikes, Trump replied: “Could be, I mean, a lot of things – I envisage a lot of things.”
“They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen,” he added.
Nigeria, a country of more than 200 million people, is divided between the largely Muslim north and mostly Christian south. Armed groups have been engaged in a conflict that has been largely confined to the northeast of the country, which is majority Muslim, and has dragged on for more than 15 years.
Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, a spokesman for Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, denied Trump’s claims of mass killings of Christians.
“We are not proud of the security situation that we are passing through, but to go with the narrative” that only Christians are targeted, “no, it is not true. There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria”, he said.
“We’ve continuously made our point clear that we acknowledge the fact that there are killings that have taken place in Nigeria, but those killings were not restricted to Christians alone. Muslims are being killed. Traditional worshippers are being killed… The majority is not the Christian population.”
Imomotimi Ebienfa said Nigeria was ready to work with its partners to “fight this scourge of terrorism, but not any passive action that will undermine the sovereignty of our country”.
He also vehemently denied that the Nigerian government has allowed the killings to take place.
“The killings are not sanctioned by the Nigerian government,” he said. “The killing of any Nigerian in any part of the country is a loss to the country … The perpetrators of these killings are terrorist groups Boko Haram and other al-Qaeda and [ISIL] ISIS-affiliated groups that are perpetuating this crisis.”
An adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu also echoed the sentiment.
Daniel Bwala told the Reuters news agency on Sunday that the country would “welcome US assistance as long as it recognises our territorial integrity”.
Bwala sought to play down tensions between the two states, despite Trump calling Nigeria a “disgraced country”.
“We don’t take it literally, because we know Donald Trump thinks well of Nigeria,” Bwala said.
“I am sure by the time these two leaders meet and sit, there would be better outcomes in our joint resolve to fight terrorism,” he said.
Trump’s threat of military action came a day after his administration added Nigeria back to a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations that Washington says have violated religious freedoms. Other nations on the list include China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.
Tinubu, a Muslim from southern Nigeria who is married to a Christian pastor, on Saturday pushed back against accusations of religious intolerance and defended his country’s efforts to protect religious freedom.
When making key government and military appointments, Tinubu, like his predecessors, has sought to strike a balance to make sure that Muslims and Christians are represented equally. Last week, Tinubu changed the country’s military leadership and appointed a Christian as the new defence chief.
“Since 2023, our administration has maintained an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions,” Tinubu said in a statement.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.”
‘No Christian genocide’
While human rights groups have urged the government to do more to address unrest in the country, which has experienced deadly attacks by Boko Haram and other armed groups, experts say claims of a “Christian genocide” are false and simplistic.
“All the data reveals is that there is no Christian genocide going on in Nigeria,” Bulama Bukarti, a Nigerian humanitarian lawyer and analyst on conflict and development, told Al Jazeera. This is “a dangerous far-right narrative that has been simmering for a long time that President Trump is amplifying today”.
“It is divisive, and it is only going to further increase instability in Nigeria,” Bukarti added, explaining that armed groups in Nigeria have been targeting both Muslims and Christians.
“They bomb markets. They bomb churches. They bomb mosques, and they attack every civilian location they find. They do not discriminate between Muslims and Christians.”
Data by ACLED, a US crisis-monitoring group, backs Bugatti’s assertion.
ACLED research shows that out of 1,923 attacks on civilians in Nigeria so far this year, the number of those targeting Christians because of their religion stood at 50.
“Insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa often present their campaigns as anti-Christian, but in practice, their violence is indiscriminate and devastates entire communities,” said Ladd Serwat, a senior Africa analyst at ACLED.
The violence in Nigeria, he told Reuters, “is part of the complex and often overlapping conflict dynamics in the country over political power, land disputes, ethnicity, cult affiliation, and banditry”.
Serwat said the recent claims circulating among some US right-wing circles that as many as 100,000 Christians had been killed in Nigeria since 2009 are not supported by available data.
Ebenezer Obadare, a senior fellow of Africa studies at the Washington, DC-based Council on Foreign Relations, agreed and said the Trump administration should work with Nigerian authorities to address the “common enemy”.
“This is precisely the moment when Nigeria needs assistance, especially military assistance,” Obadare told Al Jazeera. “The wrong thing to do is to invade Nigeria and override the authorities or the authority of the Nigerian government. Doing that will be counterproductive.”
Officials and experts in Nigeria on Sunday denied Trump’s claims of mass killings of Christians, noting that Boko Haram and al-Qaeda-linked groups target people of all faiths in Africa’s most populous country.
But Trump – who has directed his government to prepare for possible “fast” military action in Africa’s most populous country – doubled down on the threat on Sunday, saying he was he was considering a range of military options in Nigeria,
When asked by a reporter if he was considering US troops on the ground in Nigeria or air strikes, Trump replied: “Could be, I mean, a lot of things – I envisage a lot of things.”
“They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen,” he added.
Nigeria, a country of more than 200 million people, is divided between the largely Muslim north and mostly Christian south. Armed groups have been engaged in a conflict that has been largely confined to the northeast of the country, which is majority Muslim, and has dragged on for more than 15 years.
Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, a spokesman for Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, denied Trump’s claims of mass killings of Christians.
“We are not proud of the security situation that we are passing through, but to go with the narrative” that only Christians are targeted, “no, it is not true. There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria”, he said.
“We’ve continuously made our point clear that we acknowledge the fact that there are killings that have taken place in Nigeria, but those killings were not restricted to Christians alone. Muslims are being killed. Traditional worshippers are being killed… The majority is not the Christian population.”
Imomotimi Ebienfa said Nigeria was ready to work with its partners to “fight this scourge of terrorism, but not any passive action that will undermine the sovereignty of our country”.
He also vehemently denied that the Nigerian government has allowed the killings to take place.
“The killings are not sanctioned by the Nigerian government,” he said. “The killing of any Nigerian in any part of the country is a loss to the country … The perpetrators of these killings are terrorist groups Boko Haram and other al-Qaeda and [ISIL] ISIS-affiliated groups that are perpetuating this crisis.”
An adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu also echoed the sentiment.
Daniel Bwala told the Reuters news agency on Sunday that the country would “welcome US assistance as long as it recognises our territorial integrity”.
Bwala sought to play down tensions between the two states, despite Trump calling Nigeria a “disgraced country”.
“We don’t take it literally, because we know Donald Trump thinks well of Nigeria,” Bwala said.
“I am sure by the time these two leaders meet and sit, there would be better outcomes in our joint resolve to fight terrorism,” he said.
Trump’s threat of military action came a day after his administration added Nigeria back to a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations that Washington says have violated religious freedoms. Other nations on the list include China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.
Tinubu, a Muslim from southern Nigeria who is married to a Christian pastor, on Saturday pushed back against accusations of religious intolerance and defended his country’s efforts to protect religious freedom.
When making key government and military appointments, Tinubu, like his predecessors, has sought to strike a balance to make sure that Muslims and Christians are represented equally. Last week, Tinubu changed the country’s military leadership and appointed a Christian as the new defence chief.
“Since 2023, our administration has maintained an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions,” Tinubu said in a statement.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.”
‘No Christian genocide’
While human rights groups have urged the government to do more to address unrest in the country, which has experienced deadly attacks by Boko Haram and other armed groups, experts say claims of a “Christian genocide” are false and simplistic.
“All the data reveals is that there is no Christian genocide going on in Nigeria,” Bulama Bukarti, a Nigerian humanitarian lawyer and analyst on conflict and development, told Al Jazeera. This is “a dangerous far-right narrative that has been simmering for a long time that President Trump is amplifying today”.
“It is divisive, and it is only going to further increase instability in Nigeria,” Bukarti added, explaining that armed groups in Nigeria have been targeting both Muslims and Christians.
“They bomb markets. They bomb churches. They bomb mosques, and they attack every civilian location they find. They do not discriminate between Muslims and Christians.”
Data by ACLED, a US crisis-monitoring group, backs Bugatti’s assertion.
ACLED research shows that out of 1,923 attacks on civilians in Nigeria so far this year, the number of those targeting Christians because of their religion stood at 50.
“Insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa often present their campaigns as anti-Christian, but in practice, their violence is indiscriminate and devastates entire communities,” said Ladd Serwat, a senior Africa analyst at ACLED.
The violence in Nigeria, he told Reuters, “is part of the complex and often overlapping conflict dynamics in the country over political power, land disputes, ethnicity, cult affiliation, and banditry”.
Serwat said the recent claims circulating among some US right-wing circles that as many as 100,000 Christians had been killed in Nigeria since 2009 are not supported by available data.
Ebenezer Obadare, a senior fellow of Africa studies at the Washington, DC-based Council on Foreign Relations, agreed and said the Trump administration should work with Nigerian authorities to address the “common enemy”.
“This is precisely the moment when Nigeria needs assistance, especially military assistance,” Obadare told Al Jazeera. “The wrong thing to do is to invade Nigeria and override the authorities or the authority of the Nigerian government. Doing that will be counterproductive.”
Trump tells military to prepare for 'action' against Islamist militants in Nigeria
US President Donald Trump has ordered the military to prepare for action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militant groups, accusing the government of failing to protect Christians.
Trump did not say which killings he was referring to, but claims of a genocide against Nigeria's Christians have been circulating in recent weeks and months in some right-wing US circles.
Groups monitoring violence say there is no evidence to suggest that Christians are being killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which is roughly evenly divided between followers of the two religions.
An advisor to Nigeria's president told the BBC that any military action against the jihadist groups should be carried out together.
Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would welcome US help in tackling the Islamist insurgents but noted that it was a "sovereign" country.
He also said the jihadists were not targeting members of a particular religion and that they had killed people from all faiths, or none.
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has insisted there is religious tolerance in the country and said the security challenges were affecting people "across faiths and regions".
Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday that he had instructed the US Department of War to prepare for "possible action".
And on Sunday, Trump reiterated that his country could deploy troops to Nigeria or carry out airstrikes to stop the alleged killings.
"They're killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria. They're killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We're not going to allow that to happen," the US president said.
In Saturday’s post he warned that he might send the military into Nigeria "guns-a-blazing" unless the Nigerian government intervened, and said that all aid to what he called "the now disgraced country" would be cut.
Trump had said: "If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!"
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth then replied to the post by writing: "Yes sir.
"The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities."
Trump's threat triggered alarm across Nigeria. Many on social media urged the government to step up its fight against Islamist groups to avert a situation where foreign troops are sent into the country.
But Mr Bwala, who said he was a Christian pastor, told the BBC's Newshour programme that Trump had a "unique way of communicating" and that Nigeria was not taking his words literally.
"We know the heart and intent of Trump is to help us fight insecurity," he said, adding that he hoped Trump would meet Tinubu in the coming days to discuss the issue.
Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern" because of the "existential threat" posed to its Christian population. He said "thousands" had been killed, without providing any evidence.
This is a designation used by the US State Department that provides for sanctions against countries "engaged in severe violations of religious freedom".
Following this announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.
"The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality," the Nigerian leader said in a statement.
Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people - however most of these have been Muslims, according to Acled, a group which analyses political violence around the world.
In central Nigeria, there are also frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and farming groups, who are often Christian, over access to water and pasture.
Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also seen thousands killed, but atrocities have been committed on both sides and human rights group say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted.
Trump has frequently expressed satisfaction over not having embroiled the US in a war during his tenure, and has cast himself as a peace-making president.
But the Republican leader is facing a growing number of voices domestically, particularly from the political right, who have drawn attention to the situation in Nigeria.
By Joseph Winter, BBC
Trump did not say which killings he was referring to, but claims of a genocide against Nigeria's Christians have been circulating in recent weeks and months in some right-wing US circles.
Groups monitoring violence say there is no evidence to suggest that Christians are being killed more than Muslims in Nigeria, which is roughly evenly divided between followers of the two religions.
An advisor to Nigeria's president told the BBC that any military action against the jihadist groups should be carried out together.
Daniel Bwala said Nigeria would welcome US help in tackling the Islamist insurgents but noted that it was a "sovereign" country.
He also said the jihadists were not targeting members of a particular religion and that they had killed people from all faiths, or none.
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has insisted there is religious tolerance in the country and said the security challenges were affecting people "across faiths and regions".
Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday that he had instructed the US Department of War to prepare for "possible action".
And on Sunday, Trump reiterated that his country could deploy troops to Nigeria or carry out airstrikes to stop the alleged killings.
"They're killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria. They're killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We're not going to allow that to happen," the US president said.
In Saturday’s post he warned that he might send the military into Nigeria "guns-a-blazing" unless the Nigerian government intervened, and said that all aid to what he called "the now disgraced country" would be cut.
Trump had said: "If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!"
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth then replied to the post by writing: "Yes sir.
"The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities."
Trump's threat triggered alarm across Nigeria. Many on social media urged the government to step up its fight against Islamist groups to avert a situation where foreign troops are sent into the country.
But Mr Bwala, who said he was a Christian pastor, told the BBC's Newshour programme that Trump had a "unique way of communicating" and that Nigeria was not taking his words literally.
"We know the heart and intent of Trump is to help us fight insecurity," he said, adding that he hoped Trump would meet Tinubu in the coming days to discuss the issue.
Trump earlier announced that he had declared Nigeria a "Country of Particular Concern" because of the "existential threat" posed to its Christian population. He said "thousands" had been killed, without providing any evidence.
This is a designation used by the US State Department that provides for sanctions against countries "engaged in severe violations of religious freedom".
Following this announcement, Tinubu said his government was committed to working with the US and the international community to protect communities of all faiths.
"The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality," the Nigerian leader said in a statement.
Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in north-eastern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands of people - however most of these have been Muslims, according to Acled, a group which analyses political violence around the world.
In central Nigeria, there are also frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders and farming groups, who are often Christian, over access to water and pasture.
Deadly cycles of tit-for-tat attacks have also seen thousands killed, but atrocities have been committed on both sides and human rights group say there is no evidence that Christians have been disproportionately targeted.
Trump has frequently expressed satisfaction over not having embroiled the US in a war during his tenure, and has cast himself as a peace-making president.
But the Republican leader is facing a growing number of voices domestically, particularly from the political right, who have drawn attention to the situation in Nigeria.
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