Tinubu’s Appointments, Marriage Show Christians Not Target Of Hate, Keyamo Tells Trump

The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has defended Nigeria against the allegation of targeted killing of Christians, saying President Bola Tinubu’s marriage and appointments indicate the claim is untrue.

President Donald Trump of the US had last week asked the Federal Government to stem the tide of what he described as the “mass slaughter” of Christians, designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Interest (CPC).

But Keyamo, in a post on his X handle on Wednesday, said Tinubu, a Muslim, is married to a Christian and pastor in one of the biggest churches in Nigeria and has handed key appointments to people of other faiths.

“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,” the minister wrote.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria, though a Muslim, is a known ‘moderate’, whose wife is a Pastor of one of the biggest Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria, and most of his children are practising Christians. When he was the Governor of Lagos State, he regularly invited Christian pastors for prayers and worship sessions at the Government House. He will be the last person to either adopt the killing of Christians as a State Policy, or condone such acts, or be complicit in them,” he added.

I am a lawyer of more than three decades of active practice, most of which was dedicated to activism in promotion and protection of human rights. In 2017, right there in Washington, I was found worthy to be awarded the Global Human Rights.

Keyamo, a human rights activist, admitted that the country was facing security challenges, but said that while efforts are being made to address them, Nigeria is not alone.

“These decades-old problems were inherited by our President, who has made great progress in the fight against these insurgents,” the senior lawyer said.

He said the country is a “secular State” whose “Constitution explicitly provides for freedom of religion and prohibits the adoption of a state religion, reflecting its status as a multi-faith nation”.

“In all honesty, the insecurity in some parts of the country over the years has impacted adherents of all religions, and this government has not sought to protect one set of adherents and ignore the others,” the Delta-born chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said.

Trump had threatened military action in Nigeria and said the US “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening”.