The Nigerian government has reiterated that it cannot support any form of religious persecution among citizens of the country.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar while speaking in Berlin, Germany on Tuesday said the present administration led by President Bola Tinubu is committed to freedom of religion and adherence to the rule of law as enshrined in Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution as amended.
Tuggar’s remarks follows the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and the threat of military invasion by the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump.
Trump in a couple of posts on social media had warned the Nigerian government to take actions towards ending the alleged killing of Christians across states in Nigeria or risk military invasion.
However, addressing Trump’s threats and designation of Nigeria as CPC, Tuggar cautioned the US government and its President to refrain from creating a Sudan-like situation with the West African country.
He also described the allegations by the US as false narratives while cautioning President Trump and the international community against careless remarks that could create division among citizens of Nigeria and other nations in Africa.
Showcasing a booklet at the event to buffer his point, Tuggar said, “ Well, I will react by showing you what we have. I think the document that we came up with is what I want to show her. What we’ve done is we’ve articulated what our Constitution says about religious freedom, what our federal laws say about religious freedom, and Nigeria’s constitutional commitment to religious freedom and the rule of law.
“All the answers are in there and this is what guides us, and this is what shows that it’s impossible for there to be a religious persecution that can be supported in any way, shape, or form by the government of Nigeria at any level, be it federal, be it regional, be it local,” the Minister stated.
He further reminded the audience thatt, Nigeria is a country with a population of 230 million people and the largest democracy in Africa and therefore, persecution a section of the citizens over their religion is highly improbable.
“We’ve seen what has happened with Sudan, with agitations for the partitioning of Sudan based on religion, based on tribal sentiments And you can see the crisis.
“So it’s important. And who gets left behind to work towards resolving such problems? It’s the African countries. It’s countries like Nigeria that is a member of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council. So this is what I have to say. I will share this copy with you,” Tuggar added.
