Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of making false claims about a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, describing the American leader as someone who harbours hostility toward Africa.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Falana said Trump’s allegation that thousands of Christians were being systematically killed in Nigeria was not backed by evidence.
He said the violence in parts of the country is driven by criminality and resource conflicts rather than religion.
“My position is that Mr. Trump has lied to the whole world by alleging Christian genocide in Nigeria without any evidence to back it up,” he said.
“He said about 3,100 Christians have been killed in Nigeria. When you look at the narrative of Mr Trump, and match it with what is on ground, the killers — be it terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers and so on and so forth, or people we simply call gunmen — do not care about your religion and many of them care about the ransom that you’re going to pay. So, it’s not about religion.”
Falana noted that in violence-prone areas such as Benue and Plateau states, the conflict is rooted in land and grazing disputes.
“Those who are killing there are either killing to expropriate land, or killing to feed their animals,” he said.
The human rights lawyer advised the Federal Government not to be overly concerned about Trump’s recent threat of military action against Nigeria, but to examine its own shortcomings in tackling insecurity.
“Instead of losing sleep over Trump’s statement, the government has a duty to look inwards; where have we made errors?” he said.
Falana further claimed that Trump’s posture toward Nigeria forms part of broader geopolitical maneuvers.
“I know him, I know his antics, I know his hatred for Africa. This matter is about the resources of our country. The same guys who are promoting this debate are also saying let’s cut China to size in Africa. We must look at the geopolitical considerations… and the errors made by our government in the past and present,” he said.
Falana’s comments came amid heightened diplomatic tension following Trump’s public order to prepare for possible military action in Nigeria.
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