The Federal Government on Wednesday met with members of the diplomatic corps in Abuja to address allegations of religious persecution in Nigeria and reject the United States’ designation of the country as one of particular concern. The government maintained that Nigeria does not target any group based on faith.

Speaking during the diplomatic briefing, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dunoma Ahmed, said claims of religious persecution misrepresented the country’s legal and social framework.

Ahmed explained that Nigeria’s national laws were religion-neutral and designed to protect all communities equally. He stated that there was no offence of blasphemy under the national legal framework, noting that the Shari’a laws applied in some northern states were limited to Muslims and operated under the supervision of the secular judicial system.

“Christian and Muslim institutions continue to operate freely, promoting peaceful coexistence,” he said.

Also addressing journalists in Abuja, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, faulted the US designation, describing it as a product of “misrepresentation and misinformation.”

Idris argued that terrorism, banditry, and other violent crimes in the country were not driven by religion.

“Criminal activities and terrorism do not target any particular religious group. This is not about religion, it is about crime,” he maintained.

The minister disclosed that since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, security agencies had neutralised more than 13,500 terrorists, arrested over 17,000 suspects, and rescued more than 9,850 abducted persons, including women and children.

He said, “Since May 2023, when he (Tinubu) took office, Nigeria’s security agencies have neutralised more than 13,500 terrorists through sustained operations, and they have arrested over 17,000 suspects who are now undergoing interrogation and prosecution for various offences.

“Also, more than 9,850 people abducted by these terrorists, including women and children, have been rescued and reintegrated with their families. It is important to note that the menace of terrorism in Nigeria does not exclusively target any religious or ethnic group.”

Idris added that the President was engaging diplomatic channels to correct what he described as a “misjudgment of Nigeria’s reality” by Washington.

“The Government of Nigeria remains open and willing to work closely with the international community, including the United States and other partners, to achieve the shared goal of completely eliminating terrorism and violent extremism on Nigerian soil. The President has pledged to ensure that all those making the country unsafe are permanently removed,” he said.

He continued, “Regarding the current misrepresentation of Nigeria’s security situation by the United States, President Tinubu is taking the lead in addressing all areas of misunderstanding through diplomatic and political channels.

“While we welcome collaboration, assistance, and partnership from all foreign allies, including the United States, Nigeria is not denying that we face serious security challenges. We invite all our partners and friends to join us in understanding our situation and supporting our efforts to eliminate this menace.”

Keyamo writes Trump

In a related development, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has written to former US President Donald Trump to counter allegations of targeted killings of Christians in Nigeria.

In a letter posted on his verified X handle on Tuesday, Keyamo said he felt compelled to respond “as a Christian and as a public official.” He argued that Nigeria was being wrongly portrayed as a country where Christians were systematically attacked, pointing out that even President Tinubu’s immediate family members are Christians.

According to him, the claims of Christian genocide are exaggerated and misleading, and should not influence foreign policy decisions.

Recalling his background, the minister said he had spent much of his professional life defending the rights of the oppressed, a commitment that earned him the Global Human Rights Award in Washington in 2017 from the United States Global Leadership Council, then chaired by Dr. Reuben Egolf.

Keyamo informed Trump of President Tinubu’s long-standing record of religious tolerance. He highlighted that despite being a Muslim, the President’s wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is a pastor in one of Nigeria’s largest Pentecostal churches, while his children are practising Christians.

He said, “President Tinubu is a known moderate, who, during his time as Governor of Lagos State, regularly invited Christian pastors for prayers and worship sessions at the Government House. He would be the last person to either adopt the killing of Christians as a state policy or condone such acts.”

Olurode warns FG

Meanwhile, a former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Lai Olurode, has urged the Federal Government to proceed with caution in its engagement with the United States.

In a statement on Wednesday, Olurode advised that Nigeria’s response to both the US designation and Trump’s recent comments should be guided by diplomacy rather than emotional or defensive patriotism.

Warning that it could be “suicidal to walk into America’s death trap,” the former Professor of Sociology at the University of Lagos said Trump could “even be angry with the truth.”

Offering advice on how the Federal Government should respond to the US listing of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, Olurode stated, “In his response to Mr Trump’s provocative moves, President Tinubu’s government should display decorum and respect for the most powerful country in a unipolar world. Nigeria shouldn’t turn itself into a theatre of war, which it is luring itself into.

“Simultaneously, I urge Nigeria’s elites to sink their differences and mobilise national sentiments behind the government of Nigeria and President Bola Tinubu. If Nigeria goes under, there will be no country for the pursuits of our diverse aspirations.

“There seems to be no country that can stop America. We should be diplomatic rather than being emotional or displaying morbid patriotism. President Trump can be angry with even the truth. So far, our government has acted with caution and with the consciousness that America can kill Nigeria’s fly with a sledgehammer. It is suicidal to walk into America’s death trap.”

Enang advises govt

Former presidential aide, Senator Ita Enang, has cautioned the Federal Government against taking hasty or poorly considered actions in response to the United States’ recent threat.

The controversy followed reports that former US President Donald Trump threatened tougher measures against Nigeria if Washington’s concerns were ignored.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Enang said the issue carried serious foreign policy implications and must not be handled through spontaneous or uncoordinated reactions by government officials.

“This is a diplomatic issue that must be treated with utmost caution,” he warned. “Not every government official should make statements capable of inflaming the situation or misrepresenting Nigeria’s position.”

Enang, a former Special Adviser to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), suggested that the Presidency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Intelligence Agency, and the National Assembly leadership should jointly craft a unified national response.

He also proposed that both chambers of the National Assembly convene a joint sitting to adopt a coordinated resolution so that Nigeria speaks “with one national voice.”

Turning to domestic concerns, Enang lamented the financial strain on the Federal Government, describing it as “fiscally overstretched” while states and local governments enjoy increased allocations from the Federation Account.

“The truth is that the Federal Government is broke,” he said. “It cannot meet its constitutional obligations because its share of national revenue is too small relative to its responsibilities.

“State governments are celebrating higher allocations, but the Federal Government that generates and disburses these funds is borrowing just to feed its children.”

The former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business described the current revenue-sharing arrangement as “obsolete,” noting that it no longer reflects the scale of federal responsibilities.

“Today, the Federal Government funds the army, police, DSS, civil defence, road safety, and several other agencies, yet it receives just about half of the national revenue. It makes neither fiscal nor moral sense,” he said.

Nigerian Air Force intensifies operations

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, on Wednesday, summoned all Air Component Commanders from ongoing operations nationwide and directed them to intensify the tempo of precision air strikes.

A statement issued by the Air Force spokesman, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the air chief instructed the commanders to “fly smarter and strike harder” against terrorists, insurgents, and armed criminal gangs.

According to Ejodame, top operational commanders from every theatre of conflict — including the forests of Zamfara, the riverine enclaves of the Niger Delta, and the rugged terrains of the North-East — attended the meeting.

He said Aneke told the commanders that the coming days would demand greater agility, precision, and intelligence-driven warfare.

“We must fly smarter and strike harder, not only to neutralise threats but to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians. Every mission must reflect professionalism, purpose, and patriotism,” he quoted the air chief as saying.

Aneke emphasised that the evolving nature of threats across the country required close coordination of air, land, and maritime forces to achieve joint mission success.

“Our operations must be intelligence-led, coordinated, and focused. We will continue to work closely with the sister services and other security agencies to ensure a united front in the fight against terrorism and criminality,” he added.

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has said he predicted the mass revocation of visas and green cards by the United States government.

In an interview published by BBC News Pidgin on Facebook on Wednesday, the world-renowned writer, whose visa was recently revoked by the US, said he had foreseen that once Donald Trump assumed office as President, “the first thing he will do is cancel even the green cards.”

Soyinka stated, “This is a petty-minded dictator, you see how he deals with his objects of hate. We saw that dark side of the American side. There were more killings, extrajudicial killings by the police of black people, of minorities, during that build-up, during the campaign, and on account of hate rhetoric, the hate rhetoric of this individual. I saw it and I said, listen very carefully — and you can go and check this – I said, ‘When that man comes to power, the first thing he will do is cancel even the green cards’.”

Soyinka’s remarks come amid rising diplomatic tension between Nigeria and the United States following Trump’s recent designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged Christian genocide in the country.

Trump, in a series of posts on X, had warned that if the Nigerian government failed to stop the killings, the United States would intervene militarily, “coming into Nigeria gun-ablazing.” His comments have generated widespread concern and pushback both within and outside Nigeria.

Soyinka, a long-time critic of Trump, had previously vowed to destroy his US Green Card once Trump became president, a decision he has since carried out.

“I have already done it, I have disengaged (from the United States). I have done what I said I would do,” Soyinka said in an earlier statement at the University of Johannesburg, according to AFP.

He added, “I had a horror of what is to come with Trump… I threw away the (green) card, and I have relocated, and I’m back to where I have always been” – referring to his homeland, Nigeria.

In July this year, the US Department of State announced a new visa policy for Nigerian citizens. According to a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, “most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.”

Soyinka had disclosed during a media parley last Tuesday in Lagos that his B1/B2 visa had been revoked by the US Embassy. The US Consulate later confirmed the revocation in a letter addressed to him on October 23, 2025, requesting that he submit his visa for “physical cancellation,” a request Soyinka described as “a joke.”

The letter further stated, “If you have plans to travel to the United States, you must apply again to re-establish your qualifications for a new non-immigrant visa.”

Although Soyinka said he was not informed of the reason for the visa withdrawal, the US Mission in Nigeria clarified in a response to The Punch that visas issued by the United States are “a privilege, not a right.”

The Mission’s spokesperson explained, “Visas are a privilege, not a right. Every country, including the United States, can determine who enters its borders. Visas may be revoked at any time, at the discretion of the U.S. government, whenever circumstances warrant.”

Speaking further during his BBC interview, the 91-year-old playwright, who said he would never reapply for a US visa, explained that he left the country voluntarily because he did not want to be “kicked out.”

“I said I’m not going to wait to be told to come for a reinterview or simply told, ‘Get out! The green card is cancelled!’ That’s all. People failed to understand. Even though I said it, people failed to accept it. I said I don’t like to be kicked out; I like to kick myself out, it’s more dignified,” Soyinka stated.

He added that he anticipated the Trump administration’s actions, noting, “I knew I would not be able to resist making comments on what I knew would happen, and sure enough, he did not disappoint me.”

Soyinka also mentioned receiving a letter from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notifying him of a tax audit shortly after Trump assumed office.

“After he took office, I got a letter from the IRS telling me to report for an audit. The coincidence for me was very impressive,” he said.

During the Lagos media parley, Soyinka explained that the audit did not come as a surprise, describing it as a normal process.

He told journalists, “I think it’s important for me to begin by reminding us about the history of this visa, which was issued when an accident happened to my Green Card, so it became no longer valid. Unfortunately, or fortunately, whichever way you want to look at it, not long after that, maybe by accident or maybe it’s related or not, I got a letter from the Internal Revenue Service of the United States of America saying that an audit of my tax return was about to take place, going back about five years.”

According to him, tax audits are routine exercises “just to make sure one is not cheating, and that’s okay.”

He recounted, “So I went to the embassy to say this is the letter I just received from the Internal Revenue Service. My Green Card is no longer usable. I don’t want to be advertised as a tax dodger owing the United States money and being chased all over the world with letters and police, and I said I needed to go in and see the audit, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Soyinka maintained that he bears no ill will toward the US Embassy or its staff, noting that he was always treated with respect whenever he visited.

Abdul-Ganiyu Obasa, son of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudasiru Obasa, has been confirmed as the new Chairman of Agege Local Government. His emergence follows the resignation of the former council chairman, Tunde Azeez, who had been on medical leave since the inauguration of the current administration.

In a letter presented by the Leader of the House, Adeshina Haruna, Azeez formally resigned from his position, citing ongoing health issues that had hindered his ability to effectively perform his duties since taking office.

Following the reading and approval of the resignation letter during a council session on Wednesday, lawmakers unanimously voted Abdul-Ganiyu into office as the new Local Government Chairman.

According to the council lawmakers, the unanimous vote in his favour was based on his notable contributions to the development of Agege and the need to prevent a leadership vacuum within the local government.

More to come…