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A heated debate erupted on Piers Morgan’s programme on Tuesday when Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, clashed with former Canadian MP Goldie Ghamari over allegations that Christians in Nigeria are being systematically persecuted.
The confrontation began after Morgan cited figures from the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), claiming that more than 50,000 Christians had been killed and 18,000 churches destroyed in Nigeria since 2009. Tuggar rejected these numbers, saying the government does not classify deaths by religion and treats all victims equally as Nigerians.
“When Morgan demanded official figures, the minister stated that only 177 Christians had been killed and 102 churches attacked within the last five years,” Tuggar noted.
Ghamari escalated the discussion, claiming that the violence amounted to jihad and controversially linking it to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel.
“I don’t have to be familiar with the Constitution of Nigeria to know that when someone yells ‘Allahu Akbar’ before they massacre 200 Christians and burn Christian churches, that’s not just banditry. That’s jihad,” she said. She also alleged, “This is a government that is working closely behind the scenes with the Islamic Republic of Iran. You should ask the foreign minister why Nigerian school children are holding pictures of the Ayatollah who is a brutal dictator and is murdering my people in Iran… people need to look into the linkages between the current Nigerian government and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Reflecting on her political experience, Ghamari added: “I was a politician for seven years, Piers, and I can tell when someone is lying and avoiding the truth. That’s exactly what this foreign minister is doing, and shame on him for lying.”
Tuggar responded firmly, calling her claims “baseless” and accusing her of turning Nigerian tragedies into political talking points. He defended the government’s leadership structure, highlighting that Nigerians value geographic balance, with the president from the South and the vice president from the North.
On Islamist extremist attacks, Tuggar condemned the violence and spoke of personal loss:
“I lost my father-in-law to an attack by an Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, so I myself I’m a victim. I’ve lost family members to attacks, and they were Muslims. But it doesn’t matter whether they’re Muslim or Christian… the number one enemy of Boko Haram is not a Christian. It is a Muslim who does not subscribe to their own brand of Islam.”
Ghamari insisted that violence against Muslims does not change the reality of targeted attacks on Christians. Tuggar shot back, accusing her of inflaming tensions from abroad:
“People like her trade in starting wars in faraway places where they have no contact, they have no understanding, and they can do that from their armchairs… they don’t care about freedoms and are seeking to destabilise Nigeria because it is Africa’s biggest democracy and a regional stabiliser. It’s not going to happen to Nigeria. Move on to your next project. You’re a disgrace. You’re a disgrace to the Canadian nation.”
The debate comes months after U.S. President Donald Trump labeled Nigeria a “country of particular concern” over reports of Christian persecution.
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