Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has dismissed allegations that Christians in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria, are facing a campaign of religious persecution, describing such claims as misleading and inaccurate.
Speaking during a live interview on Channels Television, Soludo stated that the region’s insecurity is not religiously motivated but rooted in deeper social, economic, and political challenges.
His comments followed recent remarks by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused the Nigerian government of enabling widespread killings of Christians and hinted at possible U.S. military intervention to protect them.
Soludo rejected the narrative, arguing that international observers often misunderstood the realities on the ground.
“There is a deeper conversation and introspection about what goes on in the country,” the governor said. “In this part of eastern Nigeria, it is not religious. People are killing themselves — Christians killing Christians. The people in the bushes are Emmanuel, Peter, and John — all Christian names — and they have maimed and killed thousands of our youths. It has nothing to do with religion.”
The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor noted that the South-East is over 95 percent Christian, making it illogical to describe the violence as religious persecution.
“It is wider than the categorisation of Christians and Muslims,” he added. “Nigeria will overcome, and it will end in conversation.”
While acknowledging America’s right to comment on global human rights issues, Soludo cautioned that any international response must align with international law and be based on accurate informationrather than sensational claims.
His remarks contribute to the ongoing debate about the root causes of insecurity in the South-East, which local leaders often attribute to separatist agitations, criminality, and socio-economic frustrations, rather than religious conflict.
