A heated confrontation unfolded on international television as Nigeria's Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar engaged in a fiery debate with former Canadian parliamentarian Goldie Ghamari over allegations of widespread Christian persecution in Nigeria.
Clash Over Conflicting Death Statistics
The Tuesday evening broadcast of Piers Morgan's programme turned contentious when the host cited figures from the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) claiming that more than 50,000 Christians had been killed in Nigeria since 2009 with approximately 18,000 churches destroyed.
Minister Tuggar immediately dismissed these statistics as misleading and inaccurate. The Nigerian government does not categorize fatalities by religious identity, he insisted, emphasizing that all victims of Nigeria's security challenges are treated as Nigerians regardless of faith.
When pressed for official government data, Tuggar revealed strikingly different numbers, stating that only 177 Christians had been killed and 102 churches attacked in the past five years according to official records.
Accusations of Jihad and Government Complicity
The debate intensified when Goldie Ghamari joined the discussion, making several explosive allegations against the Nigerian government. The former Canadian politician asserted that Nigeria's security crisis amounted to jihad and drew controversial parallels to the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault on Israel.
Ghamari pointed to the Muslim identities of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima as what she called evidence of an Islamist government. She further escalated her accusations by claiming that Nigeria's government is working closely behind the scenes with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Minister's Firm Rebuttal and Call for Fair Reporting
Foreign Minister Tuggar issued sharp rebuttals to all allegations, maintaining that Nigeria's security crisis affects citizens across all religious affiliations. He stressed the government's commitment to protecting all Nigerians equally and challenged the narrative of religiously motivated persecution.
In a significant move following the interview, Tuggar urged Piers Morgan and the production team to air the complete interview without edits or selective omissions. He emphasized the importance of presenting verifiable data in full context rather than distorting Nigeria's reality to fit external biases about alleged religious conflicts.
The minister's call for unbiased reporting underscores the Nigerian government's position that the country's complex security situation is being misrepresented in international discourse as primarily religious persecution rather than broader security challenges affecting all citizens.
