American missionary, Alex Barber, has strongly denied claims by the Nigerian government that he was deported from the country, describing the allegation as false and misleading.

Barber, reacting hours after reports of his alleged expulsion surfaced, insisted that he remained in Nigeria and had not been officially removed by authorities.

In a series of statements, he dismissed the government’s position and challenged officials to provide proof of any deportation process.

“2 hours before flight I’m live on Newscentral. DSS attached to me during my mission for protection. Round trip flights. 0 official deportation letter. Embassy never informed of any such desire. These lies only expose the evil in power in Nigeria. See you soon!” he said.

He further refuted claims attributed to Abiodun Essiet, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement (North Central), who had earlier stated that Barber was expelled over alleged inflammatory remarks.

“FALSE: If Abiodun Essiet, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu made this statement, they are directly lying to the Nigerian and international community. I’ve never heard of this person, nor had conversation with them. US Embassy denies such claim,” Barber said.

Escalating his response, Barber accused Essiet of deliberately spreading falsehoods and attempting to mislead the public about his status in Nigeria.

“Why have you disgraced the Tinubu government by openly lying about me? @AbiodunEssiet Without any shame you lie to the world. As Nigerian security forces were attached to me, you claim I was deported. Shame on you. The Embassy will be in touch,” he added.

He also noted that the American embassy denied such development.

“US Embassy who denies any such deportation. Any deportation of US citizen must go through the embassy, of which none was made. If such a statement is true let it be known the Nigerian government is intentionally lying to both Nigeria and the international community.”

Barber’s denial comes in response to earlier remarks by Essiet during a television interview, where she claimed that the government had taken decisive action against the missionary.

“Yeah, so we’ve realised what Alex Barber has done, so I must inform that Alex Barber is no longer in Nigeria,” Essiet had said. “He has been, we can say, removed and sent out of the country because of the work he’s doing, which is creating division.”

She further alleged that Barber’s statements incited unrest, linking his speech in Jos, Plateau State, to subsequent violence.

“Immediately after he made his speech in Jos, a lot of people didn’t know that two people, two Muslims, were killed immediately after his speech,” she said. “Because of the impact of this provocative speech, which he has been making, he was sent out of the country and is no longer in Nigeria.”

Essiet also defended the government’s actions as preventive, warning against the dangers of divisive rhetoric and drawing parallels with the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

“That’s what the government has done, because we don’t want individuals to come and create division,” she said, adding that Nigeria must avoid narratives that could fuel ethnic or religious conflict.

However, Barber has maintained that no such action was taken against him, insisting that there was no official deportation notice and no communication with the United States Embassy regarding his alleged removal.

The conflicting accounts have raised questions over the accuracy of the government’s position and the circumstances surrounding the missionary’s activities in Nigeria who has been a critic of President Tinubu over handling of the country’s security.

He has consistently accused the Tinubu administration of failing to secure different communities in Nigeria.
SaharaReporters

Barber, reacting hours after reports of his alleged expulsion surfaced, insisted that he remained in Nigeria and had not been officially removed by authorities.