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President Bola Tinubu has made it clear to Donald Trump, his American counterpart, that Nigeria does not tolerate religious persecution.
Nigeria’s number one citizen stated this in his personal response to Trump, who on Friday, redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern”.
Trump had claimed that Nigerian Christians were facing existential threat, vowing that the US would protect them.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed,” Trump had said in a Social Media post on Friday.
On Saturday, the Nigerian leader responded back to Trump via Social Media.
“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.
“Since 2023, our administration has maintained an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.
“Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths. Our administration is committed to working with the United States government and the international community to deepen understanding and cooperation on protection of communities of all faiths.”
