United States Senator, Ted Cruz, has accused the Nigerian government of being aware of policies that fuel Christian persecution in the country but chooses to employ media manipulation to change the narratives over accountability.
Cruz who has been one of the US lawmakers calling out Nigerian government officials to do more to protect Christians in the country, said in a statement posted on his X account on Friday that the government, instead of doing the needful, has embarked on a public relations campaign to deny the existence of a genocide in the country.
Cruz was particularly referring to an interview session by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, with Piers Morgan on ‘PiersUncensored’ where the minister insisted that there is no Christian genocide in the country.
“I appeared on @piersmorgan’s flagship programme, @PiersUncensored, where I presented a factual and contextual perspective on the misleading narratives and allegations of religious persecution in Nigeria,” Tuggar had said
“My explanations, supported by verifiable data, may not have conformed to certain preconceived views. However, for the sake of integrity and transparency, it is essential that the full interview be aired exactly as recorded, without edits or selective omissions. Nigeria’s truth must not be distorted to fit external biases.”
But while responding to the interview and the stance of Tuggar, Cruz warned about Nigeria using a PR campaign to couch the existence of Christian killings in the country.
“Nigerian officials know their policies have created an environment in which Christians are being persecuted and slaughtered, including their enforcement of sharia law and their tolerance of Islamist violence,” Cruz said.
“Instead of reversing these policies, they are waging a media campaign to escape exposure and accountability. I intend to prevent them from doing so,” he added.
