Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused opposition parties of collaborating with external forces to spread false narratives about genocide and religious persecution in Nigeria, describing the claims as “politics taken too far.”
Wike made the remarks on Monday evening during an appearance on Channels Television’s current affairs programme, ‘Politics Today’, where he reacted to comments by United States President Donald Trump, alleging that Christians were being killed in Nigeria.
“Before I came here, so many people sent me messages saying I should not speak about Donald Trump,” Wike said at the beginning of the show.
“I am a full-blooded Nigerian, I am a Christian, and my father is a pastor. A government I am serving—anybody can say they are killing Christians? This is politics taken too far.”
The former Rivers State governor dismissed the genocide claims as baseless and politically motivated, noting that the structure of the current administration did not support any form of religious bias.
“The Chief of Defence is a Christian, the Inspector General of Police is a Christian, the former Chief of Defence Staff is a Christian, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is a Christian,” he stated. “Tell me, how will any right-thinking person believe we will sit in a government where our own people are being killed?”
Wike further condemned terrorist attacks and killings across the country, stressing that the violence affects both Christians and Muslims.
“No leader will be happy about the death of anybody, whether Christian or Muslim,” he said. “I don’t know where the Trump administration is getting that from, but nobody can say that in this administration, a particular religion is being eliminated. It’s not correct. I’m not happy that terrorists are killing Christians, Muslims, and even unbelievers.”
Defending President Bola Tinubu, Wike said the president was not an extremist and has demonstrated religious tolerance throughout his political career.
“The president I know—one of the reasons we supported him when people were talking about a Muslim-Muslim ticket—was because we said he is not an extremist. He married a Christian. How can he close his eyes when his wife’s people are being eliminated? That’s why I said it’s politics taken too far,” the Minister stressed.
Wike recalled how similar narratives were used against former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, claiming that the opposition at the time relied on external propaganda to discredit the administration.
“In 2015, during Jonathan’s administration, people capitalised on religion to gain power. Opposition used external forces to make sure Jonathan did not win,” he said.
When asked directly if he believed the current narrative was being pushed by the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections, Wike responded, “It is obvious. The opposition has seen that no party can challenge the president’s return to power, so they decided to divide the country. This is politics taken too far.”
He further criticised those blaming the Tinubu administration for killings in parts of the country, reminding them that such tragedies predated the current government.
“When Ortom was governor in Benue State, there were killings. When the Chibok girls were kidnapped and taken away, Tinubu was not in power,” Wike recalled. “I don’t need to be a Christian or a Muslim to feel bad that people are being slaughtered.”
