In a robust defense of the administration’s security record, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has revealed that security forces in Nigeria have killed more than 13,000 terrorists, while arresting over 17,000 others since President Bola Tinubu took over power in May 2023.
The minister made the announcement on Friday, 21st November, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today. The figures were framed as a direct rebuttal to recent criticisms from United States lawmakers regarding Nigeria’s human rights, and security situation.
The comments from the US legislators after a hearing by the House Subcommittee on Africa, which scrutinized Nigeria’s redesignation as a “Country of Particular Concern.” During the hearing, Representative Bill Huizenga accused the Nigerian government of failing to adequately confront what he termed persistent ,and targeted killings — particularly within Christian communities.
Minister Idris firmly rejected the characterization that the government is downplaying the security crisis. He insisted that the nation’s security forces have achieved significant progress in their ongoing counter-terrorism campaigns.
“Sometimes we forget some of the successes recorded in the fight against bandits, criminals and jihadists,” Idris stated. “From May 2023 to date, over 13,500 of these criminals have been neutralised. Over 17,000 have been apprehended, many of whom have already been prosecuted and sentenced.”
Addressing the tragic loss of life across the country, the minister said President Tinubu remained deeply saddened by the violence, emphasizing that no Nigerian should be killed because of their faith or geographic location.
“We don’t need a situation where anybody is killed, whether Christian or Muslim. It’s not good for our country,” the minister affirmed.
However, Idris directly challenged claims of a religious genocide, a label sometimes applied to the ongoing violence. He argued that the scourge of terrorism affects all communities without religious bias.
“Are people being killed? Yes. Is it a good thing? No. Is the government doing something about it? Quite a lot,” the minister asserted.
“But there is no religious genocide in Nigeria. Christians are being killed in some parts, just as Muslims are being killed. It is a sad reality, but that characterisation is not correct.”
The disclosure of these specific casualty, and arrest figures marked one of the administration’s most detailed public accounts of its counter-terrorism efforts, signaling a concerted effort to project an image of a government firmly in control of the nation’s security challenges.