FG, NASS to Blame for Failure to Counter US ‘Genocide’ Claims, Says Ndume

Senator Ali Ndume (Borno Central) has criticized the Federal Government and the National Assembly for their alleged failure to act promptly and diplomatically to counter the growing “misconception” about religious persecution in Nigeria, which he says led to the recent U.S. designation.

The criticism follows the declaration by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform that Nigeria is a “Country of Particular Concern,” alleging that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in the country” and ordering the country to be placed on a watchlist.

Reacting to the designation, Senator Ndume, in a statement on Saturday, alleged that both the Tinubu administration and the Senate had ignored earlier warnings and failed to engage Washington diplomatically before the reclassification was announced.

Ndume revealed that he had previously raised the alarm, adding,

“I have alerted the government; I even moved a motion. Nigeria is a sovereign state. It isn’t about what the United States can do to us, but about the misconception and the ripple effects of classifying us as a country of concern.”

The Senator insisted that the government’s response must be firm and factual. He urged the government to:

* Engage the American government by presenting facts and figures.

* Demand that the US hear the other side of the story from the Nigerian government and the Muslim community.

He stressed that the violence is not a targeted genocide against Christians but a security crisis against all Nigerians. “Muslims have been killed, too. The genocide isn’t against Christians but Nigerians generally,” Ndume stated.