Berlin, Germany \u2014 Nigeria\u2019s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has dismissed claims by former U.S. President Donald Trump that the Nigerian government is complicit in the persecution of Christians, describing such allegations as \u201cimpossible under the Nigerian Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking during a joint press conference with Germany\u2019s Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, in Berlin on Tuesday, Tuggar said no level of government in Nigeria \u2014 federal, regional, or local \u2014 could legally or practically engage in religious discrimination.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is impossible for there to be any form of religious persecution supported by the government of Nigeria at any level,\u201d Tuggar stated.<\/p>\n
Trump Threatens \u201cGuns-Blazing\u201d Military Action<\/p>\n
Last week, Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that his administration would halt all U.S. aid and assistance to Nigeria, accusing the country of allowing targeted killings of Christians.<\/p>\n
He also warned that the United States could intervene militarily \u201cguns-a-blazing\u201d to eliminate Islamist militants allegedly responsible for the attacks.<\/p>\n
Trump further listed Nigeria as a \u201ccountry of particular concern\u201d over alleged religious intolerance and human rights abuses.<\/p>\n
Nigerian Government Rejects Allegations<\/p>\n
Reacting to Trump\u2019s statement, Ambassador Tuggar reaffirmed Nigeria\u2019s secular constitutional framework, emphasizing that state involvement in religious persecution is legally and institutionally impossible.<\/p>\n
He said the Nigerian government remains committed to upholding human rights, religious freedom, and equal protection for all citizens, regardless of faith or ethnicity.<\/p>\n
The Minister stressed that terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria were not religiously motivated but were broader national and regional challenges linked to poverty, governance, and organized crime.<\/p>\n
Defence Chief Welcomes International Support<\/p>\n
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, also said Nigeria welcomes international assistance in combating terrorism, provided that its sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf countries are ready to support Nigeria, we\u2019re ready to have them onboard to help checkmate terrorism within our space,\u201d Oluyede said.<\/p>\n
Cleric Warns Trump\u2019s Remarks Could Fuel Tension<\/p>\n
Prominent Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, cautioned that Trump\u2019s comments could inflame religious tensions in northern Nigeria, where both Muslims and Christians have suffered from violence by armed groups.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Reuters, Gumi urged the government to address poverty and underdevelopment as the root causes of insecurity.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuild schools, hospitals, markets, roads, and grazing areas so the people feel there\u2019s a government,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n
Gumi, known for mediating with armed groups, added that sustainable peace would only come through inclusive governance and social investment, not foreign threats or militarized interventions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Berlin, Germany \u2014 Nigeria\u2019s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has dismissed claims by former U.S. President Donald Trump that the Nigerian government is complicit in the persecution of Christians, describing such allegations as \u201cimpossible under the Nigerian Constitution.\u201d Speaking during a joint press conference with Germany\u2019s Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, in Berlin on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Nigeria\u2019s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar says religious persecution is impossible under its constitution, dismissing Donald Trump\u2019s accusations.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8509,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8505\/revisions\/8509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}