The Nigerian government has rebuffed the statement by the United States that Nigeria is in serious violations of religious freedom.
The US government Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo on Friday announced that Nigeria, Cuba, Nicaragua and Sudan have been placed on the US Special Watch-list.
In swift response on Sunday, the Nigeria Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said the US arrived at the conclusion because of propaganda.
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Mohammed said the country concluded because of the propaganda surrounding farmer-herders conflicts and Boko Haram insurgency.
He stressed that Nigerians enjoy
“The deliberate effort to give religious coloration to the farmers-herders clashes and the Boko Haram insurgency, in particular, has undoubtedly helped to mislead the US into concluding that the government is doing little or nothing to guarantee religious freedom in the country,” he said.
“But, as we have always said, the farmers-herders clashes have nothing to do with religion but everything to do with environmental and socio-economic realities.
“The religious tag given to the clashes has no basis in fact, but is very convenient for those who will very easily give the dog a bad name just to hang it.
“On its part, the Boko Haram terrorists are extreme fanatics who do not subscribe to the tenets of any religion, in spite of their pretence to Islamic adherence.”
The Minister said he won’t allow attempt by the US to sow seeds of distrust among Nigerians and religious group in the country.
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