Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, says security agencies have killed more than 13,000 terrorists and arrested over 17,000 others since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
Mr Idris disclosed the figures on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, while responding to concerns raised by United States lawmakers over Nigeria’s human rights and security records.
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The comments followed a hearing by the US House Subcommittee on Africa, which queried Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern amid allegations of widespread attacks on Christian communities.
At the hearing, Rep. Bill Huizenga accused the Nigerian government of failing to confront what he described as persistent and targeted killings.
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But the minister rejected suggestions that the government was downplaying the crisis, insisting that security forces have recorded “significant progress” in ongoing counter-terrorism operations.
“Sometimes we forget some of the successes recorded in the fight against bandits, criminals and jihadists,” he said.
“From May 2023 to date, over 13,500 of these criminals have been neutralised. Over 17,000 have been apprehended, many of whom have already been prosecuted and sentenced.”
Mr Idris said President Tinubu remains “deeply saddened” by the killings across the country, stressing that no Nigerian should lose their life on account of faith or location.
“We don’t need a situation where anybody is killed, whether Christian or Muslim. It’s not good for our country,” he said.
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The minister, however, dismissed claims of religious genocide, arguing that violence affects both Christian and Muslim communities.
“Are people being killed? Yes. Is it a good thing? No. Is the government doing something about it? Quite a lot,” he said.
“But there is no religious genocide in Nigeria. Christians are being killed in some parts, just as Muslims are being killed. It is a sad reality, but that characterisation is not correct.”
