The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described claims of genocide against Christians in Nigeria as a deliberate, devious political machination being advanced against the President Bola Tinubu administration using foreign forces. It condemned the move as totally anti-Nigerian in all respects.
This is in the aftermath of a bill introduced by an American Senator, Ted Cruz, in the US Senate, seeking sanctions against Nigerian government officials for allegedly facilitating mass murder of Christians.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG argued that there is no basis for accusing the government of enabling violence against any religious community in the country.
It said: “Like many Nigerians, we were shocked to see online viral posts by American social media influencers and television personalities alleging persecution of Christians which they claimed was officially sanctioned by the government.
“A ranking US senator, Ted Cruz, has now taken the matter a notch higher by seeking sanctions against some unnamed government officials through a bill which ostensibly seeks religious freedom in Nigeria.
“The bill christened, ‘Nigeria Religious Freedom Act of 2025’ requires the US Secretary of State to designate Nigeria as a country of interest on the basis of the alleged mass murder of Christians.
“But we are convinced that it is a wild goose chase. It is obvious that Ted Cruz and his cohorts have been misinformed and misled into an orchestrated political gambit, to portray the current federal administration in bad light before the American authorities ahead of the 2027 Presidential election.
“The truth is that Nigeria is in the throes and wave of terror attacks orchestrated by criminal gangs of non-state actors including Boko Haram Terrorists targeting anyone in sight, their victims are both Muslims and Christians including animists in North East Nigeria, a fact that even the US mission in Nigeria could attest to. No particular targets. This had been their mode of operation.“
TMSG questioned Senator Ted Cruz’s knowledge of Nigeria beyond the skewed information provided to him by opposition elements poised to gain political capital from terrorist activities.
“We indeed wonder how much of Nigeria the Texas Senator knows for him to have made sweeping allegations of state-sponsored violence against Christians?
“What is even more disturbing is that he made a loose reference to a recent Boko Haram attack in Kirawa, Borno state where incidentally, Muslims had suffered in the hands of the insurgents.
“So we wonder why he cannot conduct an independent assessment of the Nigerian situation beyond what he was fed by mischievous and unscrupulous Nigerian opposition politicians scheming for 2027.
“There are suggestions that the American Senator may have been swayed by anti-Nigerian rhetorics by supporters of opposition elements who have been making invidious genocide claims as part of a campaign to tarnish the image of the current federal administration inspite of sustained highly successful counter-terrorism efforts by the security, military and intelligence agencies working more collaboratively and well coordinated by the Major General AG Laka-led National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) under the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. We dare say that Nigeria’s counter terrorism efforts had never been more successful in recent memory.
“We are aware that a ‘non-governmental organization’ (NGO) based in Onitsha, Anambra State, the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) which is widely known to have close links with some opposition politicians, has for years publicly made unverifiable claims of attacks on ‘Christian communities’ in Northern Nigeria.
This same group is known for drumming up support for a former Presidential candidate, Peter ObI, who is bracing up for another attempt at the Presidency in 2027.
“But like senior government officials have said in recent days, the genocide claim is nothing but a mischaracterization of the complex security situation in Nigeria for political gains and we dare say that it is a ‘dangerous oversimplification of the nation’s challenges’, to quote the spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs ministry, Kimiebi Ebienfa.
“We also urge the National Assembly to take it a step further as lawmakers engage robustly with the US Congress with a view to correcting the deliberate misrepresentation as well as properly contextualize the security challenges in the country to enable the US authorities better appreciate the Boko Haram conundrum in Nigeria,” the statement added.
TMSG further urged the international community to ignore the ongoing US congressmen’s shenanigans and continue to give more support to the Nigerian government towards tackling terrorism and banditry within the broader goal of pursuing a global peace agenda.
