Tinubu, APC Alerted U.S. on Alleged Killings of Christians — Babachir Lawal

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, says President Bola Tinubu and other senior All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders were the first to brief the United States government years ago about alleged killings of Christians in Nigeria.

Lawal made the remark on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, while reacting to recent statements by former US President Donald Trump concerning alleged Christian persecution in the country.

Trump had ordered the US Department of Defence to prepare for “possible action” in Nigeria, urging the Nigerian government to stop the “killing of Christians.”

However, the Federal Government dismissed the allegation, insisting insecurity affects citizens across all religious groups.

Lawal said Trump’s claims were not new and that similar concerns had previously been raised by APC leaders during the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

“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.

According to Lawal, the delegation included Tinubu and other prominent APC figures.

He said, “It included this man, the president (Tinubu), that APC delegation. I saw the picture: Buhari was there, Amaechi was there.

“I think he (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 noted that rather than debating labels such as genocide, the core issue remains the government’s obligation to protect citizens.

“Forget about genocide or no genocide in Nigeria. The issue is that the government must guarantee the security of our lives and property. That’s all we want from government,” he said.

The former SGF also faulted the current administration’s handling of insecurity, saying it had not demonstrated the capacity to effectively address the country’s security and religious tensions.