Agency Reports
The Federal Government on Monday condemned the call by five United States Republican Senators asking for the re-designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern because of alleged persecution of Christians.
The Senators who made the call in a letter to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, had also alleged violation of freedom of Nigerian Christians’ rights to practise their religion.
Responding to the allegation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in London, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Monday said the call was based on false premise and misunderstanding of what was going on in the country.
The minister said, “We want to say once again that Nigeria does not have a policy that denies people the freedom to practise their religion.
“The country also does not have a policy of violation of freedom of religion and it is not true that Nigeria persecutes anybody on account of his or her faith,” he said.
According to the minister, the only known group that target Christians is the Islamic States West Africa Province.
He, however, said the Federal Government had mounted large scale military operations to wipe out the criminals and they are yielding results.
