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Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says allegations that Christians are being targeted and killed in Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu’s administration are politically motivated.
Wike spoke on Monday during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, describing the genocide claim as “politics taken too far.”
“It is an indictment that a government I am serving—anybody will allege that that government is supporting genocide, killing of Christians, and I am still in that government,” he said.
“This is politics taken too far. 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.
“Tell me how any right-thinking person will think that we will sit in a government and support the killing of our own people?”
Asked if opposition was fuelling the narrative of a Christian genocide, Wike said, “It is very obvious, and I have said this.”
“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 added that no Nigerian leader takes pleasure in the killings happening in any part of the country.
The minister’s comments came after US President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria over the alleged killing of Christians.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump said he had asked the Pentagon to prepare a “possible plan of attack” in Nigeria, claiming Christianity faces an “existential threat” in the country.
Trump said if Nigeria failed to end the killings, “the attack will be fast, vicious, and sweet — just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians.”
He repeated the threat on Sunday after the Nigerian presidency proposed diplomatic talks to address the issue.
Asked if he was considering air strikes or deploying US troops, Trump responded, “Could be. I mean, a lot of things—I envisage a lot of things.”
When asked about Trump’s statement, Wike said he would rather believe the US president was misinformed.
“There could be some misinformation or distortion. It’s unfortunate,” he said.
