Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has dismissed former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent claims alleging that Christians in Nigeria are facing a genocide, describing such remarks as misleading and unsupported by facts.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, November 5, Falana said Trump’s allegation that thousands of Christians are being deliberately targeted and killed in Nigeria does not reflect the reality of the country’s complex security situation.
According to Falana, the insecurity in Nigeria — including killings in states like Benue and Plateau — is largely driven by criminality, land disputes and competition over natural resources, not religious persecution.
“He claimed about 3,100 Christians have been killed in Nigeria,” Falana said. “But when you study the pattern of attacks, these killers — whether terrorists, bandits, kidnappers or armed robbers — are not selecting victims based on religion. They are driven by financial motives, land disputes and ransom payments.”
Falana argued that Trump’s rhetoric is part of a larger political agenda targeted at Africa’s strategic resources and geopolitical influence.
He also cautioned the Nigerian government not to panic over Trump’s recent threat of military intervention but instead focus on improving its own security strategies.
“Rather than losing sleep over Trump, the government should examine where mistakes have been made — past and present,” Falana added.
Trump, who is currently campaigning ahead of the 2026 U.S. presidential
election cycle, has repeatedly referenced Nigeria’s insecurity in his speeches, using it to justify his foreign policy positions.
Nigeria has struggled with overlapping security challenges, including banditry in the northwest, farmer-herder clashes in the Middle Belt, separatist violence in the southeast and Boko Haram insurgency threats in the northeast — all driven by varying economic, social and political factors.
Security analysts have long warned that international narratives which oversimplify Nigeria’s insecurity risk inflaming tensions, increasing mistrust among communities and undermining ongoing peacebuilding efforts.
Source:Africa Publicity
