“Tinubu, Buhari Told US Christians Were Being Killed Under Jonathan” — Babachir Lawal

Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has revealed that President Bola Tinubu and former President Muhammadu Buhari were part of a delegation that first alerted the United States to alleged killings of Christians in Nigeria during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Lawal made the disclosure during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today while reacting to comments by US President Donald Trump, who recently directed the Pentagon to prepare for possible action in Nigeria over claims of Christian persecution. Trump also urged the Nigerian government to end what he described as the “killing of Christians.”

The Nigerian government dismissed Trump’s statement, insisting that insecurity affects citizens across all faiths.

According to Lawal, the issue raised by Trump was not new, as leaders of the All Progressives Congress had taken similar concerns to Washington years ago. “Trump might be right or not, but recall that there was a delegation that first went to the United States to tell, I think Obama then, that Christians were being slaughtered in Nigeria,” he said. “It included the president (Tinubu). I saw the picture — Buhari was there, Amaechi was there. I think Tinubu was even the one sitting close to the president when they went to lobby the Americans that the Goodluck Jonathan government was carrying out genocide in Nigeria.”

Lawal emphasized that beyond the debate over genocide claims, the main responsibility of any government is to protect the lives and property of its citizens. He also criticized the current administration, saying it has not yet demonstrated the capacity to effectively tackle Nigeria’s security challenges and ease religious tensions.