A senior adviser to the Nigerian president has rejected claims that Christians are being specifically targeted in violence across Nigeria, insisting the country is facing a broader security crisis rather than religious persecution.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser for information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, made the comments to Premier Christian News as he began a state visit to the UK, the first by a Nigerian leader in almost four decades.
The visit comes amid growing international scrutiny over attacks on Christians in Nigeria. More than 200 MPs have urged Keir Starmer to raise concerns about religious freedom when he meets President Tinubu in Downing Street on Thursday.
Last month, a US House of Representatives report described Nigeria as the most dangerous place in the world to practise the Christian faith, warning that jihadist networks exploit weak enforcement and limited accountability to carry out sustained violence.
Meanwhile, the persecution watchdog Open Doors says nearly 3,500 Christians were killed in Nigeria last year, out of the 4,849 killed around the world.
However, Onanuga strongly rejected the idea that violence is targeted specifically at Christians.
“There is nothing like Christian genocide. What we have is a security challenge which also affects many countries in the world,” he said.
He argued that the crisis is driven by a mix of extremist groups and criminal networks operating across the region, including Boko Haram.
“They go to churches. They go to mosques as well. They go to marketplaces, anywhere they can find crowds of people,” he said.
“It’s not targeted only at Christians, it’s targeted at Muslims, targeted at even non-believers – it’s targeted at all Nigerians.”
Religious freedom charity Release International has also called for Sir Keir Starmer to make the security of Christians in Nigeria a key part of his discussions with Mr Tinubu.
CEO Paul Robinson said: “Year after year, vulnerable Christian communities in northern and central Nigeria have been ignored by a government that seems either incapable or unwilling to tackle extremism within its own borders. How long must we go on witnessing the deaths and kidnappings of Christian believers and the destruction of whole communities?"
Onanuga said the government is stepping up efforts to tackle insecurity, including reforms to policing and greater involvement from local communities.
“It cannot be the federal police alone or the military that will be countering these evil people,” he said.
“The states are waking up to the idea that they have to set up their own state police… and also support local security structures to protect communities.”
He also raised concerns about church practices that could increase their vulnerability to attacks, particularly large gatherings in isolated areas.
“Churches organise night vigils. They do a lot of things that bring crowds together, sometimes in remote areas where there is no presence of security,” he said.
“They make themselves easy targets… that’s why government has said, if you want to do something, please contact the security people nearest to you so they can at least shield you from any planned attack.”
The comments come as fresh violence this week highlights the scale of Nigeria’s security crisis.
At least 18 people were killed in a vigilante clash with bandits in Nigeria's Katsina State on Tuesday. Meanwhile, at least 23 people were killed and 108 were injured on Monday in suspected multiple suicide bomb attacks in Maiduguri city.
Responding to the incident, President Tinubu expressed condolences and ordered security chiefs to the city to “take charge of the situation”.
Onanuga stressed that Nigeria’s constitution guarantees religious freedom and rejected claims that Christians in parts of the country are denied the right to practise their faith.
“Every Nigerian, as guaranteed by the constitution, is free to practise his religion,” he said.
“Nigeria is a secular state… people are free to uphold their beliefs, they have freedom of thought and freedom of religion.”
He added that some international narratives fail to reflect the complexity of the situation on the ground.
“I think they don’t have the full picture of what’s going on in our country,” he said.
“What we have is a security challenge… and the government is working hard to stem this wave of insecurity.”
President Tinubu’s two-day visit to the UK is expected to include talks on interfaith relations trade, education and defence cooperation, as well as efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties between the two nations.
