The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has said that Christianity is facing an existential threat in the country.
To this end, PFN has urged US President Donald Trump to work with his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Tinubu, on addressing insecurity in the country rather than threatening the West African nation with military action.
PFN’s president, Wale Oke, stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast show The Morning Brief.
“Whatever needs to be done should be done to stop the killings. The life of every Nigerian is precious, and the targeted attacks against the church should stop. If the President (Bola Tinubu) wants to ask for counter-terrorism training, or wherever they know that America has expertise, let them ask for it,” the cleric said on Thursday’s edition of the show.
“For us, we do not want an American invasion of Nigeria. We want Donald Trump to work with our President and to hold our President accountable to stop the targeted killing and kidnapping of our members. That is what we want.”
His comment came on the heels of President Trump’s threat to take military action in Nigeria over what he described as the mass slaughter of Christians.
Trump had taken to his Truth Social platform to ask the Nigerian authorities to address the rising spate of attacks he said were targeted at Christians and declared the West African nation a “country of particular concern”.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote in an explosive post.
“I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘country of particular concern.’ But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, are slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!” he said.
A day later, the US leader directed the Department of War to “prepare for possible action” in Nigeria.
“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our Cherished Christians! Warning:
The Nigerian Government Better Move Fast!” he said.
The Federal Government, in its response, denied claims of Christian genocide, describing it as false, baseless, and divisive.
“Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is inaccurate and harmful,” the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said.
The Nigerian authorities stated that they are taking steps to address insecurity, citing the successes recorded by security agencies. President Bola Tinubu’s administration indicated that it is open to receiving support from other countries.
Weighing in on the matter, the PFN told the Nigerian government to end the killings in several parts of the country.
“We don’t want revenge, like I said. But we want an end to killings,” the founder and presiding bishop of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries International.
“We want every Nigerian, whether Muslims or Christians, to be able to live freely, work freely, and practice their religion freely anywhere in Nigeria.”
