The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has appealed to United States President Donald Trump for support regarding the alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria, asserting that the country is grappling with terrorism, not faith-based attacks.
President Trump, over the weekend, described Nigeria as a “country of particular concern”, alleging that Christianity faces an existential threat in the country and that thousands of Christians are being killed.
In a statement addressed to President Trump on Wednesday, Keyamo affirmed that he is a lawyer with more than three decades of active practice, most of which was dedicated to activism for the promotion and protection of human rights.
“In 2017, right there in Washington, I was found worthy to be awarded the Global Human Rights Award by the United States Global Leadership Council, which had the eminent Dr. Reuben Egolf as its Chairman at the time. This was in recognition of my work over the years in the promotion of the rights of the downtrodden people.
“I was also born and raised as a Christian in Nigeria. There is, therefore, a need for me to add my little voice to the issue that has agitated your mind lately (with the hope it would be heard, even as a whimper): the purported ‘mass killings’ of Christians in Nigeria,” he said.
Keyamo noted that he was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Minister, along with other Christians. “Because of my strong Christian background and ethical pedigree, it would have been most unconscionable for me to associate with – let alone accept to serve or continue to serve – a government if truly there is any scintilla of truth in the assertion that Christians are specifically targeted in Nigeria for persecution, killings or harassment on account of their faith. It is simply not true.”
He explained that, like the United States and many countries around the world, Nigeria has faced its own share of societal violence, largely perpetrated by deadly groups such as Boko Haram (now seriously decimated), herdsmen, and cattle rustlers.
“These decades-old problems were inherited by our President who has made great progress in the fight against these insurgents. In fact, most of the security Chiefs appointed by him are Christians, so it would be unthinkable to imagine them being complicit in the killing of fellow Christians in Nigeria,” he added.
The Minister further stated that President Tinubu, though a Muslim, is a known ‘moderate’ whose wife is a Pastor in one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Nigeria — and most of his children are practising Christians.
He recalled that during Tinubu’s tenure as Governor of Lagos State, he regularly invited Christian pastors for prayers and worship sessions at the Government House, stressing that the President would be the last person to adopt or condone the killing of Christians as a state policy.
Keyamo emphasised that Nigeria is a secular state, and its constitution explicitly provides for freedom of religion and prohibits the adoption of a state religion, reflecting its status as a multi-faith nation.
This legal framework, he said, underpins the country’s diverse religious landscape, including significant populations of Muslims, Christians, and adherents of traditional African religions, coexisting within the nation’s space.
Minister Keyamo pointed out that insecurity in some parts of the country over the years has affected adherents of all religions, and President Tinubu’s government has not sought to protect one group while ignoring others.
“Ordinarily, opposition politicians will oppose the government of the day. But on this matter, President Trump, you would have observed that leaders of the opposition parties in Nigeria are united on one point: there is no targeted killing of Christians in Nigeria.”
He reiterated his appeal to the United States government for understanding and collaboration, saying: “President Trump, the Nigerian people ask for deep and sincere understanding from your government at this point; the Nigerian people ask for support and cooperation from your government at this point to confront this decades-old menace of terrorism; we ask for collaboration; we ask for frank and open dialogue at this time with your government; we ask that you broaden your sources of information at this time so as to get a balanced view of the happenings in Nigeria.”
