Religious intolerance: Government frowns at US for blacklisting Nigeria

The Federal Government of Nigeria has frowned at the United States action for blacklisting Nigeria alongside other nations over religious intolerance.

The United States on Monday listed Nigeria with other countries with severe religious violations.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had on Monday designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious freedom.‎

It’s an annual for the United States to design countries with religious intolerance.

“These annual designations show that when religious freedom is attacked, we will act,” Pompeo wrote on Twitter.

Nigeria joined other nations such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, China, Iran, Eritrea, Myanmar, North Korea, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan on the religious blacklist. ‎

Reacting, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement on Tuesday, kicked against the inclusion of Nigeria on the list. ‎

Mohammed said there was no violation of religious freedom in Nigeria, as alleged by the US government. ‎

The denial was contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant To The President (Media) Office of the Minister of Information and Culture.

Mohammed described the allegation as a case of an honest disagreement between the two nations on the causes of violence in Nigeria. ‎

”Nigeria does not engage in religious freedom violation, neither does it have a policy of religious persecution. Victims of insecurity and terrorism in the country are adherents of Christianity, Islam and other religions.‎

“Nigeria jealously protects religious freedom as enshrined in the country’s constitution and takes seriously any infringements in this regard,” the minister added. ‎