The Office of the National Security Adviser and the nation’s security chiefs are set to brief the media on Monday afternoon in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks alleging genocide against Christians in the country.
Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, announced the development at the monthly National Joint Security Press Briefing held on Monday in Abuja.
According to him, the briefing will “provide adequate response to the allegations of genocide and update the media on the ongoing activities of the government to contain insecurity and other vices.”
The move comes amid widespread reactions to Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform last Saturday, where he accused the Nigerian government of allowing the killing of Christians and threatened to send U.S. troops to intervene.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’” Trump had said.
The controversial comment drew condemnation at home and abroad, prompting President Bola Tinubu to issue an official response reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to democracy and religious freedom.
In a post on his X handle last Saturday, Tinubu stressed that Nigeria remains a secular democracy where freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed.
“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.
“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,” he had said.
Rejecting foreign portrayals of Nigeria as religiously intolerant, Tinubu described such narratives as inaccurate and inconsistent with the country’s diverse reality.
“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,” he had stated.
Reaffirming the nation’s unity, the President added that religious tolerance “has been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” while pledging continued collaboration with the United States and other global partners to promote mutual understanding and protect all faith communities.
