The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has
appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to work with President Bola
Tinubu in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges instead of threatening
the country with military intervention.
PFN President, Bishop Wale Oke, made the appeal
during an interview programme on Thursday.
“Whatever needs to be done should be done to stop the
killings. The life of every Nigerian is precious, and the targeted attacks
against the church should stop,” Oke said.
“If President Tinubu wants to seek training in counter-terrorism or leverage
American expertise, let him do so. For us, we do not want an American invasion
of Nigeria. We want Donald Trump to work with our President and hold him
accountable to end the targeted killing and kidnapping of our members.”
His comments follow Trump’s recent threat to take
military action in Nigeria over what he described as “mass slaughter of
Christians.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump
accused “radical Islamists” of killing Christians “in very large numbers” and
warned that the U.S. would respond militarily if the Nigerian government failed
to act swiftly.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in
Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are
responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist
thugs attack our cherished Christians! WARNING: The Nigerian government better
move fast!”
In response, Nigeria’s Federal Government
dismissed the allegations as false, baseless, and divisive, insisting
that the country’s security crisis was not a targeted campaign against any
religion.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed
Idris, said portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as religious
persecution was “inaccurate and harmful.”
He added that the Tinubu administration was making
progress in tackling insecurity and remained open to international cooperation.
Bishop Oke, however, urged both leaders to focus on
ending the violence rather than escalating tensions.
“We don’t want revenge, but we want an end to
killings,” he said.
“Every Nigerian, whether Muslim or Christian, should be able to live freely,
work freely, and practice their religion freely anywhere in the country.”
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