A United States lawmaker, Riley Moore, has accused President Bola Tinubu of downplaying the raging issues of Christian genocide in the country.
Moore said in a post on his X account on Sunday claims by Tinubu that Nigeria does not encourage religious persecution, contradicts the situation in the ground where Christians are being killed by Islamic extremist groups and Fulani bandits.
He cited Tinubu’s earlier assertion that his administration opposes religious persecution, saying rather than take proactive measures to address the issues, the President and his administration are busy engaging in public relations that does little or nothing to assuage the affected victims and their families.
He wrote: “@officialABAT claims his government opposes religious persecution.
“But 12 states have Sharia law, and a Christian faces the death penalty for defending his farm from a Muslim Fulani militant who stabbed him repeatedly.”
Moore also shared a video of a Fox News Sunday interview with anchor Shannon Bream, who read out Tinubu’s November statement on religious freedom in Nigeria.
According to Breem, the Nigerian president has said:
“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.
“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.
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.
“Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths. Our administration is committed to working with the United States government and the international community to deepen understanding and cooperation on protection of communities of all faiths. The picture the US getting here is not accurate.”
While responding, Moore said:
“You know, unfortunately, that is completely false. I mean, there are states in Nigeria that have blasphemy laws. People who are facing the death penalty right now for blasphemy against Islam.
“There’s a person right now who’s held in prison for defending himself from an attack from a Muslim militant from the Fulani tribe. He defended himself, and he’s facing the death penalty.
