Nigeria’s former presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, has lashed out after the United States, under President Donald Trump, redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over alleged Christian genocide.
Ahmad was angry that those who pushed for the designation, including “some Nigerian pastors”, have plunged the nation into deep trouble.
“Finally, some of our own countrymen, with the help of certain U.S. officials, have landed us in this mess,” he raged in a post on X.
He warned that the move could cripple Nigeria’s counter-terrorism fight, given its dependence on U.S. weapons and military assistance.
“Nigeria has almost solely relied on the United States in its fight against terrorism, purchasing the majority of our sophisticated weapons from them. Now, with the new sanctions, how are we supposed to effectively confront the very same terrorists committing these atrocities?” he asked.
Trump’s administration had on Friday named Nigeria a CPC, claiming that “Christianity is facing an existential threat.”
The U.S. decision followed reports alleging over 7,000 Christians killed in Nigeria this year, a claim the Nigerian government has dismissed as false and exaggerated.
Officials in Abuja insist the nation’s security crisis cuts across all religions, accusing foreign interests of twisting facts to stir division.
