The Federal Government has on Monday reacted to the call by the United States Republican Senators asking for the re-designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern because of alleged persecution of Christians amid recent attacks on worshippers.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in an interview in London said the alleged violation of freedom of Nigerian Christians’ rights to practise their religion was based on false premise and misunderstanding of what was going on in the country.
The minister further stated that the country does not have a policy that denies people the freedom to practise their religion “and it is not true that Nigeria persecutes anybody on account of his or her faith.”
Emphasizing on the state of insecurity in the country, Mohammed said, “we have issues of criminality going on and the criminals really do not make the distinction of any religion.
He said “If statistics is to be taken, I can say confidently that as many Muslims as Christians have been victims of these criminals,” adding that the only known group that target Christians is the Islamic States West Africa Province.