Nigeria dismisses US claims on Christians but calls for security aid

Nigeria on Wednesday told foreign diplomats posted to the country that its designation as a violator of religious freedom by the United States was "fundamentally misinformed", while also keeping the door open to security cooperation with Washington.

Nigeria and the United States have been embroiled in a diplomatic row since President Donald Trump said Friday he was naming Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) -- a State Department designation for religious freedom violations -- over the killing of Christians by "radical Islamists".

The west African nation is home to myriad conflicts that experts say kill both Muslims and Christians, often without distinction.

"Recent external claims suggesting systemic religious persecution in Nigeria are unfounded," foreign ministry permanent secretary Dunoma Umar Ahmed told envoys at a briefing in the capital, Abuja.

The country's long-running jihadist insurgency in its northeast, waged by Boko Haram and Islamic State-linked militants, has left more than 40,000 dead and displaced some two million, according to U.N. estimates.

Trump, who doubled down on his concerns over the "killing of Christians" throughout the weekend, later threatened military strikes on the country.

"The state continues to wage a comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign against groups that target Nigerians of all faiths," Ahmed said at a packed briefing hall at the foreign ministry offices.

He added that U.S. rhetoric over Nigeria had been "disparaging" and that "dialogue and cooperation" should "remain the standard in engagement between and among sovereign states".

It was unclear if the U.S. ambassador was present.

- No ambassador to the U.S. -

When Trump suddenly converged last week on the fate of Christians in Nigeria, the country did not have an ambassador posted to the United States.

Amid the absence, those alleging Christian "persecution" might have had an upper hand.

The issue has long been a cause celebre among the U.S. political right as well as separatist groups in Nigeria's mostly Christian southeast who have been lobbying Washington to support their cause.

"Some of the influencers of these criminal activities have direct relationships with lobbyists in the U.S.," Information Minister Alhaji Mohammed Idris told a news conference later Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu recalled nearly all the country's ambassadors in 2023 when he came into office, as part of an "efficiency" review, and has yet to replace most of them.

Idris maintained that Tinubu "is working hard on this ambassadorial matter".

The minister also said Nigeria welcomes "support from foreign nations, including the United States of America, in addressing our shared security concerns," including the "complete elimination of terrorism".

In addition to its jihadist insurgency, Nigeria also faces "bandit" gangs in the northwest who stage kidnappings, village raids and killings.

Central Nigeria sees violence between Fulani Muslim herders and mostly Christian farmers, though experts say the conflicts are sparked by dwindling land and resources rather than religious differences.