Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has accused United States President Donald Trump of having “absolute contempt” for Africans, saying his recent comments about alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria showed the same disdain he previously displayed toward South Africa.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Wednesday evening, Falana said he was not surprised by Trump’s remarks, stressing that the American leader’s history of disdain toward African countries has long been evident.
“I wasn’t surprised. This is a guy who has absolute contempt for Africans,” Falana said.
“That is the reason why he took in South Africa before Nigeria. Nigeria and South Africa are the two leading countries in Africa, so for him, we are either a sithole country or a disgraceful country.”
Falana said Trump’s claim that over 3,000 Christians had been killed in Nigeria was misleading, adding that the US president “lied to the whole world” by making such allegations without verifiable evidence.
“I am going to talk from the human rights angle, and my position is that Mr. Trump has lied to the whole world by alleging Christian genocide in Nigeria without any evidence to back it up,” he stated.
“He said about 3,100 Christians have been killed in Nigeria. Nobody can support even the killing of a single citizen of this country, but when you look at the narrative of Mr. Trump and match it up with what we have on ground, you will find that the killers—whether terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, or gunmen—do not care about your religion. Many of them care about the ransom you are going to pay. So, it is not about religion.”
The human rights advocate explained that most of the violent conflicts in the Middle Belt, particularly in Benue and Plateau States, have deeper socio-economic roots tied to land and resources, not faith.
“If you look at the Middle Belt, particularly Benue and Plateau where these campaigns have gone on for quite some time, those that were killing there were either killing to extort land or killing to feed their animals through open grazing,” he said.
Falana emphasised that while insecurity remains a grave concern in Nigeria, it is dishonest to frame it as a religious war.
He urged Nigerians and the international community to focus on addressing the underlying issues driving violence rather than spreading divisive narratives.
“Instead of losing sleep over what Trump has said, can we take it as a duty to look inward and ask ourselves where we have made mistakes?” he asked.
The Senior Advocate’s remarks came amid widespread reactions to Trump’s statements, in which the US President accused the Nigerian government of turning a blind eye to the alleged mass killing of Christians and even hinted at possible US military intervention.
