Nigeria hits back at US over Christian 'persecution' claims

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Nigeria's government on Friday strongly denied claims from the US Congress that Christians were victims of persecution in Africa's most populous country.

Republican Congressman Chris Smith this week called for Nigeria to be listed as a "country of particular concern" (CPC) in terms of religious freedom because of "seemingly endless violence against Christians".

Abuja could face sanctions if the State Department in Washington agreed with the designation, he added.

Nigeria was on the CPC list during Donald Trump's first term as US president in 2020 but his successor Joe Biden removed the designation the following year.

Nigeria's foreign ministry said attacks and insecurity were "not driven by religious bias or targeted against any particular religious group".

"The majority of insurgency and banditry-related incidents in the predominantly Muslim northern region of Nigeria do not specifically target followers of any faith or religion," it added.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses deep concern over the recent wave of misinformation and misleading reports alleging targeting killings of Christians in Nigeria."

Smith cited a recent report by the Christian charity Open Doors which claimed that "89 percent of Christians martyred worldwide are in one country -- Nigeria".

The NGO works in more than 70 countries worldwide, distributing bibles and defending "persecuted Christians".

Muslims also victims

Nigeria is almost evenly divided between a Muslim-majority north and largely Christian south.

Its northeast has been in the grip of jihadist violence for more than 15 years by the Islamist Boko Haram group, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives and displaced two million.

At the same time, large parts of the northwest, north and centre of the country have been hit by criminal gangs known as "bandits" who attack villages, killing and kidnapping residents.

Homes are regularly ransacked then torched, with no apparent religious motive.

Clashes are also frequent between Fulani herders and farmers over land and resources, particularly water.

"Most of the farmers are Christian, most of the herders are Muslim," said Isa Sanusi, Nigeria director of Amnesty International.

"That is why it is very easy for the American right wing... to interpret it in that way.

"It's always wrong to look at it from that angle... By making it look like only the lives of Christians matter to them (the US), they are likely going to create a situation that will generate religious tension in the country.

"Killings are happening all over Nigeria," he added. "More Muslims are killed than Christians."