Temitope Mustapha, Abuja
The United States Government has been urged to replace its “subjective criticisms” with tangible action by deepening strategic collaboration with Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, through enhanced intelligence sharing, operational coordination, and access to critical counter-terrorism tools.
A Security Risk Management and Intelligence Expert, Dr. Kabir Adamu, stated this on Sunday, in an interview on the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA.
He warned that Washington’s insistence on framing the country’s situation through the lens of religious persecution and its re-designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern could lead to a major risk of State fracture and a devastating consequence for the African continent.
Acknowledging that killings in Nigeria affect both Muslims and Christians, Dr. Adamu dismissed claims of a Christian genocide, emphasising that the violence is not faith-specific.
He cautioned against the mishandling of Nigeria’s fault lines of ethnicity and religion, describing them as ‘tectonic template.’
Dr. Kabir noted that a recent visit by a United States congressional delegation in January 2025 was limited to Benue and Plateau States, while deliberately excluding Zamfara, Katsina, and other parts of the North-West equally affected by the killings, a move, he said undermined the balance and credibility of their assessment of Nigeria’s security situation.
According to him, “The US Commission on International Religious Freedom USCIRF when they wrote their report in July, they recommended clearly that that is what they want the US government to do.
“I raised attention to it. When several congressional delegation came to Nigeria, starting from January up until now, they visited Nigeria. They visited Benue and Plateau. We tried to encourage them to go to other regions, Zamfara, and to go to Katsina, and go to other Northwestern States to get the Balance, but clearly they were more intentional in visiting Plateau State.
“Now we have authorised that visit, we should, as a condition to granting them their visa, say they must go to Zamfara and Katsina States.
“When the National Human Rights Commission published its July dashboard report, we cautioned because what the National Human Rights Commission did in its July dashboard was to actually endorse this Trump’s narrative by saying there is a suppression of Religion,… when they were now giving evidence.
“Unfortunately, they did not give evidences on one Islamic centre or cleric that was attacked; all the evidence they gave were supporting Christians targeted, which was faulty,” he said.
Risks
“And now that we are facing it, what are the risks. Risk number one, and this is for the United States, Nigeria has a population of over 230 million. If they continue this narrative and create a divide between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, it could lead to state fracture. If it leads to state fracture, the consequences will be devastating for the African continent.
“I don’t think the African continent can contain a collapse of the Nigerian state, so I hope the Americans are very conscious of what they are doing and the consequences it could attract.
“What we need from the US is support and not this type of subjective criticisms.
“The killings affect both Muslims and Christians. We need access, support, and intelligence to target the perpetrators of these killings and not to create division between the two faiths.
“The tectonic templates that Nigeria relies on is ethnicity and religion; if you play with that …, you are playing with the future of Nigeria, so the risk is extremely high.
“If US is not conscious of that, I am using this medium to call on them to realise that the consequences of their action may be state fracture and they should be ready to face the consequences if it does happen,” he added.
The Security Risk Management Expert further called on the Nigerian government to take proactive diplomatic and interfaith steps to counter foreign misconceptions about the nation’s security situation.
Joint Action and Diplomatic efforts
He called for joint action from key religious bodies, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), advising that both institutions should issue a unified statement.
“Of course, for us in Nigeria, the risk is that we cannot afford to have state fracture. So what do we do? I am calling on the government to call on CAN, the Nigeria Islamic Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, to sit together and issue a joint statement admitting to the fact that, yes, there are killings, but the killings are not targeted at any of the two faiths.
“They attack Muslims, they attack Christians, they attack churches, they attack mosques. Let the world hear from the two institutions that this is not religious. After that, whatever the world decides to do, then the Nigerian government has played its part,” Adamu added.
Dr. Adamu proposed that a direct conversation between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and U.S. President Donald Trump could help ease tensions.
“Nigeria can also escalate diplomatic pressure, invite the US Ambassador to Nigeria, let the Minister of Foreign Affairs invite him, and present facts to him.
“We also need our Congressmen to play the role of the inter-parliamentary dialogue they hold. We have a US-Nigeria Commission, let’s also use that platform to engage, and of course, I think it won’t hurt us if there is a direct conversation between President Bola Tinubu and President Donald Trump, a phone call, hopefully, will help reduce this tension .
“It is for our President to reassure his counterpart that there is no Christian Genocide,” he explained.
In his final assessment, Dr. Adamu noted that, based on data monitored by his private security firm, there has been a measurable decline in security incidents since June 2025.
“Yes, there are gaps, and I must say President Tinubu is doing a lot to reduce insecurity in the country. If you pick the Renewed Hope Agenda and all the things he’s been able to implement, it is a work in progress.”
He commended the Tinubu-led administration for the notable progress recorded in reducing security incidents across the country, describing it as clear evidence of the administration’s ongoing implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Dr. Kabir stressed that such progress deserves recognition and constructive support from Nigeria’s international partners, particularly the United States, rather than the recurring wave of subjective criticisms.
“And I must say, as someone who has been able to set up a private firm that is monitoring security trends over the years from June this year, we have seen significant reduction in security incidents. We deserve that commendation from our Ally, the US, and not the criticism of the manner that we see,” the security expert added.