Nigeria Tells Washington: Violence Not Religious, ‘Attacks Hit All Faiths’

The Nigerian government has dismissed comments by US Senator Marco Rubio describing the alleged “slaughter of thousands of Christians” in the country as a “tragic and unacceptable” situation, calling the statement a “gross exaggeration” of Nigeria’s security reality.

Responding to Rubio’s post on X, presidential aide Bayo Onanuga said the lawmaker’s remarks misrepresented the nation’s internal security challenges, insisting that violence in Nigeria was not religiously targeted.

“Dear Secretary Rubio, there is no ongoing slaughter of thousands of Christians in Nigeria. This is a gross exaggeration of the Nigerian situation,” Onanuga wrote. “What we do have are sporadic attacks on some villages by bandits and terrorists, and the attacks are religiously insensitive.”

Senator Rubio, a Republican from Florida, had echoed former President Donald Trump’s recent statement alleging that radical Islamists and Fulani militias were responsible for the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria.

In response, Onanuga stressed that both Christians and Muslims have fallen victim to insecurity across the country.

“Christians, Muslims, churches, and mosques are attacked randomly,” he said, adding that Nigeria needs “military support to fight these violent extremists in some states, not designation as a nation of particular concern.”

Rubio had earlier warned that the United States “stands ready, willing, and able to act” against what he described as religiously motivated violence in Nigeria.

However, Nigerian authorities maintain that the attacks are driven by criminal and terrorist motives rather than religious persecution.

The exchange comes amid renewed diplomatic tension following Trump’s earlier statement labelling Nigeria a “country of particular concern” over alleged persecution of Christians — a claim Abuja has firmly rejected.