Prominent human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has advised the Nigerian government to treat U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent warning as a wake-up call rather than reacting defensively to his allegations of “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Falana dismissed Trump’s claim as false and hypocritical, describing him as a politician who has shown contempt for Africans. He stressed that the violence in Nigeria stems largely from criminal activities, banditry, and armed groups, not from religious persecution.
Falana urged the government to focus on domestic reforms instead of engaging in verbal exchanges with foreign leaders. He identified failures in security management, open grazing regulation, and the lack of functional ranches as key contributors to the country’s insecurity.
The senior lawyer also accused the government of weakness and inconsistency for not confronting Trump’s double standards, pointing to America’s internal security challenges and Trump’s support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza and his aggressive stance toward Venezuela, a Christian-majority nation.
He emphasized that state governments must take responsibility for prosecuting offenders, strengthening law enforcement, and adopting comprehensive strategies to tackle terrorism, kidnapping, and armed robbery.
Falana further blamed poor governance, external interference, and geopolitical missteps for worsening Nigeria’s security crisis.
He warned against allowing foreign powers to exploit religious divisions for political gain, urging Nigerian leaders to prioritize unity, security reform, and citizen protection to prevent further instability.
