Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has again dismissed claims of an ongoing Christian genocide in the country, insisting that available government data contradicts such assertions.
Speaking on Piers Morgan’s show on Tuesday, Tuggar said that in the last five years, 177 Christians were killed, 98 injured, and seven abducted, while 102 churches were attacked within the same period.
His comments were in response to figures by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), which alleged that more than 50,000 Christians had been killed and 18,000 churches destroyed across Nigeria since 2009.
Tuggar described the organisation’s statistics as “inaccurate,” arguing that Nigeria’s security challenges should not be framed along religious lines.
According to him, the government does not categorise victims of violence by religion but treats all Nigerians equally.
“In the last five years, I can categorically tell you that 177 Christians have been killed. The number of those injured is 98, while seven were abducted,” he said. “We are not hiding any facts, but we don’t go about trying to identify a Nigerian’s faith when they have lost their lives.”
The minister added that 52 churches were attacked in the last two years, noting that mosques have also been targeted in several incidents, which shows that the insecurity cuts across religious divides.
He stressed that Nigeria’s religious demography—where Muslim and Christian populations are spread across regions—requires a more nuanced understanding from international observers.
Tuggar urged the global community to avoid oversimplified narratives and engage with the country’s complex security realities.
