Massad Boulos, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump for Arab and African affairs, has dismissed swirling allegations of a Christian genocide in Nigeria.
Boulos spoke in Rome, Italy, on Friday when he met with President Bola Tinubu on the sidelines Aqaba process heads of state and government-level meeting.
Trump’s adviser’s comments come as US lawmakers have increasingly asked the president to impose sanctions on Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) over an alleged persecution of Christians.
But there has been no reaction from the White House over the matter.
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When asked about the government’s position during his visit to Tinubu, Boulos said, “Those who know the terrain well know that terrorism has no colour and no religion and no tribe”.
“People of all religions and all tribes are dying as a result of terrorist acts, but it’s very unfortunate,” he added.
“We even know that Boko Haram and ISIS are killing more Muslims than Christians. People are suffering from all sorts of backgrounds. This is not specifically targeted about one group or the other.
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“However, any loss of life is one too many, and we should work together in partnership to put an end to this.”
The US envoy noted that Nigeria’s middle belt has witnessed deadly clashes between farmers and herders, with many of the farmer casualties being Christians.
“But definitely it’s not something that we can say is specifically targeted about a specific group,” he added.
Boulos described Nigeria as a melting pot of different ethnic and religious groups, stressing an almost even split between Christians and Muslims.
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“This has never been a serious religious issue and should not be,” he said.
The US official said the Tinubu-led administration has recently taken additional measures to tackle insecurity, yielding improvements.
He said the US welcomed the moves and would continue to work with Nigeria to ensure success.
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