Nigeria Still Suffering From Gaddafi’s Death — Tuggar

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has stated that Nigeria is still grappling with the far-reaching security fallout of the death of late Libya leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

Tuggar also dismissed the claims on the Piers Morgan Uncensored programme on Tuesday that tens of thousands of Christians have been killed in the country over the past decade.

The minister, who appeared on the show to address rising concerns over insecurity, refuted allegations that 50,000 to 100,000 Christians have been killed since 2009 and 18,000 churches destroyed, stressing that the figures are “completely and totally inaccurate.”

Responding to Morgan’s question on whether the figures amounted to genocide, Tuggar insisted that the numbers being circulated internationally were misleading. “Those figures are completely and totally inaccurate and false,” he said.

“Many in the media have fact-checked it and found it to be totally inaccurate.”

Tuggar explained that much of Nigeria’s insecurity stems from events that unfolded thousands of kilometres away — particularly the collapse of Libya in 2011 after Gaddafi’s killing.
He said the disintegration of the Libyan state unleashed a wave of weapons across North and West Africa, worsening Nigeria’s internal security challenges.

“In Nigeria, we have a multi-tribal, multi-religious, multi-ethnic country of 230 million people,” he said.

“We have suffered from things beyond our control, such as the breaking up of the Libyan state, the killing of Gaddafi and the proliferation of weapons that spread into northern Nigeria and beyond.”

Tuggar linked Nigeria’s situation to the rise of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin, noting that the insurgency has affected neighbouring countries as well.

“We have Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, and the failure of the EU Sahel strategy affects not just Nigeria but Niger, Chad and Cameroon,” he said.

The minister argued that while Nigeria faces significant security challenges, they should not be mischaracterised as a targeted religious genocide.

He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to restoring stability, saying the government continues to collaborate with regional and global partners to curb the circulation of arms and extremist activities.