The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, has criticised United States President Donald Trump over his recent claims of genocide in Nigeria, describing the statement as another failure of American intelligence.
Speaking at the National Joint Security press briefing in Abuja on Monday, Issa-Onilu said Trump’s remarks reflected a long history of inaccurate intelligence reports from the United States.
“This is not the first time that the intelligence of the United States failed Americans. It failed in Iraq, it turned out that there was no weapon of mass destruction and they apologized,” Issa-Onilu stated.
He further accused US agencies of repeatedly misrepresenting facts, citing past instances in Libya and Afghanistan. “It failed them in Libya and many other instances. So I’m sure this is another error in their intelligence gathering,” he said.
The NOA chief, however, acknowledged that while Nigeria faces security challenges, the killings should not be mischaracterised as genocide. “Beyond that, we all are Nigerians. We know that there are killings in Nigeria and there are killings that should never happen,” he added.
His comments came in reaction to a post by President Trump on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, in which he claimed that Christianity was “facing an existential threat” in Nigeria. Trump revealed that he had directed the Pentagon to prepare a possible plan of attack, saying, “if Nigeria does not stem the killings, the United States will attack and it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians.”
The US President doubled down on his remarks on Sunday while speaking aboard Air Force One. When asked if he was considering sending American troops to Nigeria or ordering air strikes, Trump responded, “Could be, I mean, a lot of things—I envisage a lot of things.”
“They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen,” he added.
The Nigerian government has since dismissed the allegations, calling for restraint and responsible reporting. Officials maintain that acts of terrorism in the country affect people of all faiths, and not one religious group in particular.
Authorities also expressed readiness to engage the United States diplomatically to address misconceptions and prevent further escalation.
What You Should Know
Lanre Issa-Onilu, who currently heads Nigeria’s National Orientation Agency, condemned President Donald Trump’s recent threat to deploy US military force against Nigeria over alleged Christian killings.
Issa-Onilu attributed Trump’s remarks to flawed American intelligence, comparing it to past failures in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan.
He maintained that while Nigeria faces insecurity, there is no evidence of genocide or religiously targeted killings.
