United States Senator Ted Cruz has accused the Nigerian government of running a public relations campaign to downplay what he calls systematic persecution of Christians in the country.
Cruz issued the statement on Friday in response to comments by Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, who told Piers Morgan on Piers Uncensored that there is no genocide against Christians in Nigeria, insisting his position was based on “factual and contextual data.”
In a strongly worded rebuttal, Cruz said Nigerian authorities were concealing the scale of religious attacks.
“Nigerian officials know their policies have created an environment in which Christians are being persecuted and slaughtered, including their enforcement of sharia law and tolerance of Islamist violence.
Instead of reversing these policies, they are waging a media campaign to escape exposure and accountability. I intend to prevent them from doing so.”
Cruz, who has repeatedly criticised Nigeria’s handling of religious violence, has been one of the leading voices urging the US Congress to label Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over alleged religious freedom violations.
Senator Cruz’s position is an open facts base on the reality on ground.