The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, has criticised former United States President Donald Trump over his recent comments alleging genocide in Nigeria, describing the claims as another failure of U.S. intelligence.
Speaking at the National Joint Security Press Briefing on Monday in Abuja, Issa-Onilu said the American intelligence community has a history of misjudgments that have led to global instability.
“This is not the first time the U.S. intelligence system has failed its own people.
“It failed in Iraq when weapons of mass destruction were claimed but never found. It failed in Libya, it failed in Afghanistan and now, it has failed again on Nigeria, ” he said.
The NOA boss noted that while Nigeria continues to confront isolated cases of violence, it was “reckless and misleading” for any world leader to describe the situation as genocide.
“We acknowledge that there are tragic killings which should never happen, but to label them as genocide is an intentional distortion of facts.
“Nigerians know the truth about their country, and we will not be intimidated by external misinformation, ” he further added.
Trump, in a series of posts on his Truth Social platform over the weekend, claimed that Christianity in Nigeria was “facing an existential threat.”
He also alleged that the Nigerian government was complicit in the killings of Christians and warned that the United States might take military action if the situation persisted.
According to his statement, Trump said he had instructed the Pentagon to develop a “possible plan of attack” against Nigeria, a remark that has drawn condemnation from global leaders and security experts.
When asked by U.S. reporters whether his administration was considering ground operations or air strikes, Trump reportedly replied, “Could be, I envisage a lot of things.”
He added: “They are killing Christians in very large numbers, and we are not going to allow that to continue.”
Issa-Onilu maintained that Trump’s comments were politically motivated and detached from reality, insisting that Nigeria remains committed to religious freedom and national unity.
“The Nigerian government protects all citizens irrespective of faith or ethnicity.
“Anyone suggesting otherwise is being misled by false intelligence or driven by ulterior motives, ” he said.
The NOA Director-General urged Nigerians to disregard what he called “foreign propaganda” and to remain confident in the country’s ongoing security efforts.
Trump’s remarks have triggered diplomatic unease, coming just weeks after the Nigerian presidency invited U.S. officials for dialogue to address growing misinformation about security and religious tolerance in the country.
