The Federal Government has said allegations of religious persecution could lead to instability like the case of Sudan.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said this while responding to allegations made by President Donald Trump of America
The Nigerian Minister was attending a meeting with Johann Wadephul, his German counterpart, when the issue of Trump was raised.
At the meeting which held in Berlin, capital of Germany, Tuggar said Nigeria is structured in such a way that it is impossible for the government to persecute any citizen on the basis of religion.
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He said Nigeria’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion and firmly upholds the rule of law, making any form of state-backed persecution unthinkable.
He reaffirmed that Nigeria remains committed to protecting the rights of all citizens, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and to working with international partners to strengthen peace, tolerance, and national unity.
“Nigeria is constitutionally commited to religious freedom and rule of law, This is what guide us; it is impossible for there to be religious persecution in Nigeria. It can’t be supported in any way or any form by the government of Nigeria, at any level, be it federal, be it regional or be it local; it is impossible.
“The laws are there, all the answers are there and what we are trying to make the world understand is that we should not create another Sudan. Nigeria has a population of 230 million souls.It is the largest democracy in the African continent, the largest country on the continent.
“We’ve seen what has happened with Sudan with agitation for the partitioning of Sudan based on religion, based on tribal sentiment and you can see the crisis even when the partitioning was done according to religion, according to tribe.
“When we are talking about how to resolve crisis not only in Sudan but also in Southern Sudan… it is important to ask who gets left behind to work towards resolving such problem? It is us, it’s the African country like Nigeria that is the member of the African Union of peace and security council.”
