By Ademola Adekusibe
November 1, 2025.
Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga has faulted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments describing Nigeria as a site of “ongoing slaughter” of Christians by radical Islamists and Fulani militias.
Reacting to Rubio’s statement on X, Onanuga said the claim was a “gross exaggeration” and misrepresentation of Nigeria’s security reality.
“Dear Secretary Rubio, there is no ongoing slaughter of thousands of Christians in Nigeria. This is a gross exaggeration of the Nigerian situation,” Onanuga wrote.
He stressed that attacks by bandits and terrorists in Nigeria were not targeted at any specific religion, adding that “Christians, Muslims, churches and mosques are attacked randomly.”
Onanuga maintained that what Nigeria needed from the United States was not a “country of particular concern” designation but military support to combat violent extremism.
“The attacks are religiously insensitive,” he said. “What our country requires from America is military support to fight these violent extremists in some states of our country, not designation as a nation of particular concern.”
His comments came hours after Secretary Rubio reiterated Washington’s readiness to act, following President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged persecution of Christians.
