African Union Commission Chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has rubbished claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, insisting the terror group Boko Haram has killed more Muslims than anyone else.
Addressing reporters at the United Nations, Youssouf pushed back hard against U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of possible military action over alleged persecution of Christians.
“There is no genocide in northern Nigeria,” he declared, stressing that the conflict cannot be compared to the horrors seen in Sudan or eastern DRC.
“We have issued a communication making clear that what is going on in the northern part of Nigeria has nothing to do with the kind of atrocities we see in Sudan or in some parts of eastern DRC.
“The first victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, not Christians, and I am saying this with documented references,” he added.
Trump recently designated Nigeria as “a Country of Particular Concern” and warned that he had ordered the U.S. Department of Defense to prepare for possible military action if the Nigerian government “continues to allow the killing of Christians.”
Youssouf’s rebuttal puts the AU on a collision course with Washington, challenging the rising narrative of religious genocide and reframing the Boko Haram crisis on the global stage.
