...says Plan Political Machination against Tinubu’s Govt
“The truth is that Nigeria is in the midst of a wave of terror attacks by non-state actors including Boko Haram Terrorists, which have targeted Muslims as much as they have attacked Christians in North East Nigeria, a fact that even the US mission in Nigeria could attest to.“
By Olawale Lamina
The Tinubu Media Support Group ,TMSG, has described claims of genocide against Christians in Nigeria as a deliberate, devious machination to advance unsavoury political interests against the President Bola Tinubu administration through the use of external forces.
This is in the aftermath of a bill introduced by an American Senator, Ted Cruz, in the US Senate, seeking sanctions against Nigerian government officials for allegedly facilitating the mass murder of Christians.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa and the Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG argued that there is no basis for accusing the government of enabling violence against any religious community in the country.
“Like many Nigerians, we are surprised to see online viral posts by American social media influencers and television personalities on an alleged persecution of Christians, which they claim is officially sanctioned by the government.
“A ranking US senator, Ted Cruz, has now taken the matter a notch up by seeking sanctions against some unnamed government officials through a bill which ostensibly seeks to enable religious freedom in Nigeria
“The bill, christened the ‘Nigeria Religious Freedom Act of 2025’, requires the US Secretary of State to designate Nigeria as a country of interest based on the mass murder of Christians
“But we make bold to say that Cruz is being misled into an orchestrated political gambit, aimed at presenting the current administration in a bad light before the American authorities ahead of the 2027 presidential election
“The truth is that Nigeria is in the midst of a wave of terror attacks by non-state actors including Boko Haram Terrorists, which have targeted Muslims as much as they have attacked Christians in North East Nigeria, a fact that even the US mission in Nigeria could attest to.“
The group also questioned Senator Cruz’s knowledge of Nigeria beyond the skewed information provided to him by those seeking to make political capital from terrorist activities.
“We indeed wonder how much of Nigeria the Texas Senator knows for him to have made sweeping allegations of state-sponsored violence against Christians?
“What is even surprising is that he made a loose reference to a recent Boko Haram attack in Kirawa, Borno state, where incidentally, more Muslims had suffered in the hands of the insurgents
“So we wonder why he cannot conduct an independent assessment of the Nigerian situation beyond what he was fed by mischievous and unscrupulous Nigerian opposition politicians scheming for 2027.
“There are suggestions that the American Senator may have been swayed by anti-Nigerian rhetoric by supporters of opposition elements who have been making invidious genocide claims as part of a campaign to tarnish the image of the current administration, despite sustained highly successful counter-terrorism efforts by the military.
“We are aware that a ‘non-governmental organisation’ (NGO) based in Onitsha, Anambra State, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety), and known to have links to some politicians, has for years been making unverifiable claims on attacks on ‘Christian communities’ in Northern Nigeria.”
It noted that the same group is regularly known for drumming up support for a former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, whom the said is bracing up for another attempt at the presidency in 2027.
“But like senior government officials have said in recent days, the genocide claim is nothing but a mischaracterisation of the complex security situation in Nigeria for political gains, and we dare say that it is a ‘dangerous oversimplification of the nation’s challenges’ to quote the spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs ministry, Kimiebi Ebienfa.
“We also urge the National Assembly to engage robustly with the US Congress with a view to correcting the deliberate misrepresentation as well as properly contextualising the security challenges in the country,” the statement added.
TMSG further urged the international community to continue its current support to the Nigerian government towards tackling terrorism and banditry.
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