The country\u2019s foreign minister has said religious persecution is \u201cimpossible,\u201d given constitutional guarantees on freedom of faith<\/p>\n
Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar has pushed back against US President Donald Trump\u2019s claim about the killing of Christians in the West African nation, warning against any rhetoric that could fuel the partition of the country along religious or tribal lines.
\nThe diplomat displayed a document titled \u2018Nigeria\u2019s Constitutional Commitment to Religious Freedom and Rule of Law\u2019 to reporters at a news conference in Berlin on Tuesday, noting it outlines what the country\u2019s constitution stipulates about religious freedom.
\n\u201cThis is what shows it\u2019s impossible for there to be a religious persecution that can be supported in any way, shape or form by the government of Nigeria at any level,\u201d he said during a joint briefing with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.
\nTrump designated Nigeria a \u2018Country of Particular Concern\u2019 on Saturday, warning of potential strikes to \u201cprotect\u201d Christians. He claimed that \u201crecord numbers\u201d of Christians are being killed in Africa\u2019s most populous country.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Nigeria doesn\u2019t need American boots on our soil \u2013 presidential adviser<\/p>\n
The move followed a request to the Trump administration by US Congressman Riley Moore, who alleged that more than 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria this year alone, with hundreds more kidnapped, tortured, or displaced by extremist groups. Senator Ted Cruz also accused the Nigerian government of enabling a \u201cmassacre\u201d against Christians and has introduced a bill that he said \u201cwould target these officials with powerful sanctions and other tools.\u201d According to Cruz, 50,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2009, with 2,000 schools and 18,000 churches destroyed by \u201cIslamist jihadists.\u201d
\nNigerian officials have acknowledged the country\u2019s security challenges, tied to groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
\u2018We had the Bible, and they had the land\u2019: How the West plundered Africa under the guise of Christ<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said his government \u201copposes religious persecution and does not encourage it,\u201d adding that Abuja is committed to working with the US \u201cto deepen understanding and cooperation on protection of communities of all faiths.\u201d
\nAbuja has, however, dismissed the prospect of any unilateral US military intervention. Daniel Bwala, special adviser to President Tinubu, told RT in an exclusive interview on Monday that Washington must respect Nigeria\u2019s sovereignty and instead provide support through equipment and intelligence sharing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The country\u2019s foreign minister has said religious persecution is \u201cimpossible,\u201d given constitutional guarantees on freedom of faith Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar has pushed back against US President Donald Trump\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t