Donald Trump Misled on Nigeria Crisis – Foreign Affairs Minister, Tugar

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has dismissed comments by United States President Donald Trump, who threatened to deploy American troops to Nigeria over what he described as the government’s failure to stop alleged targeted killings of Christians.

Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Tuesday, Tuggar said the U.S. President was acting on false information circulated by groups engaged in “lies and labelling.”

“We have the utmost respect for the United States of America. By extension, we have the utmost respect for its president, President Trump,” Tuggar said.

“It’s unfortunate that President Trump has been misinformed by those that trade in general lies and labelling, and unfortunately, it has resulted in this statement.”

He urged continued diplomatic engagement to clarify the true situation.

“We urge that the engagement that is ongoing continues so that we will provide more information and clarity,” he added.

Tuggar dismissed claims that Nigeria is witnessing a religious war, insisting the country is far more complex than such narratives suggest.

“We are not the ground for either a jihad or a crusade. Nigerians have lived in peace for a very long period of time… it is important to be mindful of the complexity of the Nigerian state,” he said.

Trump’s comments were reportedly influenced by figures released by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), which alleged that over 50,000 Christians have been killed and 18,000 churches destroyed since 2009.

Tuggar strongly rejected the numbers, describing them as grossly exaggerated and unsupported by verified data.

According to him, official records show a much lower casualty figure.

“In the last five years, I can categorically tell you that 177 Christians have been killed. The number of those injured are 98, while seven were abducted,” he said.

He added that 102 churches were attacked during the same period, far below what Intersociety claimed.

Tuggar said Nigeria would continue engaging diplomatically to ensure that international partners, including the United States, base their views on factual information rather than sensational reports.

He emphasised that mischaracterising Nigeria’s complex security challenges as religious persecution risks escalating tensions both domestically and globally.

The minister reiterated that the Nigerian government remains committed to protecting all citizens, regardless of religion or ethnicity.