ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed accusations that Christians are being persecuted or deliberately targeted for violence under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, describing the claims as politically motivated and “an attempt to divide the country.”
Speaking on Monday, November 3, 2025, during an interview on Politics Today on Channels Television, Wike said narratives of a Christian genocide are being pushed for political gain and do not reflect the composition or intentions of the current government.
“I am a Christian. My father is a pastor; my family are all Christians. It’s an indictment on my person as a Christian that, in a government I’m serving, anybody will allege that the government is supporting genocide or the killing of Christians. This is politics taken too far,” he said.
He pointed to the religious backgrounds of senior security officials as evidence that the administration is not driven by sectarian motives.
“The inspector-general of police is a Christian, the director-general of the Department of State Services is a Christian, and the chief of defence staff is a Christian,” he added.
“Tell me how any right-thinking person will think that we will sit in a government and support the killing of our own people?”
Responding to a question on whether opposition figures were behind the genocide narrative, Wike argued that the claims stem from the weakness of rival parties and fears that Tinubu may secure a second term unchallenged.
“It is very obvious, and I have said this,” he noted.
“The problem we have today is that, Mr President, the very nature of politics means you can see the collapse of the opposition. It will be difficult for anybody. The opposition today has seen that no party is prepared to challenge the president returning to power. What do we do? Should we allow him to just go in like that without challenges? We must do something, and one of the things to do is bring up such things that will divide the country.”
Wike insisted that no Nigerian leader condones the loss of life, regardless of the victims’ background.
“No Nigerian leader takes pleasure in the killings happening in any part of the country,” he said.
His comments come amid escalating tension between Abuja and Washington, following remarks by United States President Donald Trump accusing Nigeria of failing to protect Christians.
Over the weekend, Trump warned he had directed the Pentagon to prepare a “possible plan of attack” if the Nigerian government did not halt what he described as the “killing of Christians.”
“If Nigeria fails to end the killings, the attack will be fast, vicious, and sweet — just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Asked again about the threat at the close of the interview, Trump said military options “could be” considered, adding, “I envisage a lot of things.”
Wike said he preferred to assume the US president had received inaccurate intelligence.
“There could be some misinformation or distortion. It’s unfortunate,” he said.
Diplomatic channels between both countries are expected to be tested as Abuja moves to counter mounting international pressure and quell rising political anxieties at home.
