Trending 
The United States has said the Nigerian government “must do more to protect Christians” following a mass kidnapping across several churches in Kaduna State, as high-level security talks between both countries began in Abuja on Thursday.
The US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, who is in charge of the US delegation to Nigeria, made the statements.
Hooker is the most senior US official to visit the country under the administration of Donald Trump.
Speaking at the meeting, Hooker referenced the abduction of more than 170 people from churches in Kaduna State on Sunday, an attack blamed on armed gangs commonly referred to as bandits.
“The government of Nigeria must do more to protect Christians and their right to practise their faith freely and safely,” Hooker said.
Her comments come due to sustained diplomatic pressure from Washington, with Trump previously describing violence in Nigeria as “genocide” and “persecution” of Christians.
The description, however, has been rejected by the Nigerian government and several independent analysts, who say the country faces multiple security threats that affect both Christian and Muslim communities.
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, told CNN that “some of the claims made by some officials of the United States are based on faulty data and some assumptions that the victims of this violence are largely Christians.”
“Yes! There are Christians being attacked, but these criminals do not just target one religion. They target Christians. They also target Muslims. We have seen that especially in the northern part of the country.”
The US was in Abuja to discuss cooperation aimed at deterring violence against Christian communities, according to Hooker’s prepared remarks.
“We are here to discuss how we can work together to deter violence against Christian communities,” Hooker told the Nigerian delegation.
Other US priorities include “countering terrorism and insecurity; investigating attacks and holding perpetrators accountable; and reducing the number of killings, forced displacements, and abductions of Christians in the north-central states”.
Despite the fact that armed groups in Nigeria have targeted communities of all faiths, her comments did not mention Muslim victims of violence.
