A senior adviser to United States President, Donald Trump, on Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, has dismissed claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria.
Boulos, while addressing a press conference on Friday, argued instead that terrorist groups, such as Boko Haram and ISIS, have killed more Muslims than Christians in the country.
Boulos made this known while addressing the allegations made by some U.S politicians about Christian genocide in Nigeria.
He stated that terrorism in Nigeria is not rooted in religious conflict but is part of a broader insecurity affecting people from all walks of life.
He said: “Any incident, any loss of life is absolutely unfortunate. Those who know the terrain well know that terrorism has no colour, no religion, and no tribe. People of all religions and all tribes are dying as a result of terrorist acts.”
He further elaborated, asserting that Boko Haram and ISIS are responsible for killing more Muslims than Christians, emphasizing that terrorism affects all Nigerians regardless of their faith or background.
Boulos stated: “We even know that Boko Haram and ISIS are killing more Muslims than Christians. So people are suffering from all sorts of backgrounds. This is not specifically targeted at one group or the other.”
He also addressed the clashes between herders and farmers in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, which some have attempted to frame as religious violence. While acknowledging these incidents, he insisted they were not driven by religious motives.
“There are other incidents that happen in the Middle Belt, for example, where farmers are located. Most of these farmers happen to be Christian, and some herdsmen are going through, and they have these incidents. But it’s not something that we can say is specifically targeted at this specific group,” he explained.
The U.S official also commended the administration of President Bola Tinubu for increasing security efforts in volatile regions of the country, stating that recent measures had yielded improvements.
“The Nigerian government and President Tinubu’s administration have recently taken additional measures and put more resources into those areas. We’ve seen some improvements in recent weeks. We appreciate those measures, and we definitely look forward to more of those.
“Nigeria is a country in which all sorts of religious groups and other groups, ethnic and tribal, have been living together in harmony for centuries. The population is split 50-50 between Christians and Muslims, so this has never been a serious religious issue and should not be,” he added.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria had been trending for the past few weeks.
The allegations were amplified after U.S. Senator Ted Cruz had accused Nigerian officials of “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.”
He also claimed that Nigerian Christians were being targeted for their faith and subjected to sharia and blasphemy laws.
Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act to the U.S Senate, aimed at sanctioning officials deemed responsible.
Similarly, Riley Moore, a U.S Congressman representing West Virginia’s 2nd District, wrote to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging him to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and suspend arms sales until the government demonstrates a commitment to protecting Christians.
The designation is reserved for nations accused of severe violations of religious freedom. Nigeria was placed on the list in 2020 during Trump’s administration but was removed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
