AU Chief Refutes Trump’s Claim of Genocide in Northern Nigeria

The Chair of the African Union Commission, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, has dismissed claims by former U.S. President Donald Trump that Christians in northern Nigeria are facing genocide at the hands of jihadists.

Speaking at a press conference in New York on Wednesday, Youssouf said there was “no genocide in northern Nigeria,” stressing that the region’s conflicts are complex and not defined by religion.

“The complexity of the situation in northern Nigeria should push us to think twice before making such statements,” he said. “The first victims of Boko Haram, the most prominent jihadist group in the region, are Muslims, not Christians.”

Trump had earlier alleged that radical Islamists were killing Christians in “very large numbers” and warned that if Nigeria failed to halt the violence, the United States might launch a swift and “vicious” military intervention.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with about 230 million people, is roughly split between a predominantly Muslim north and a largely Christian south. The country has for years faced overlapping security crises, including insurgencies, banditry, and ethnic clashes that claim lives across religious lines.

Since 2009, the Boko Haram insurgency alone has killed over 40,000 people and displaced more than two million, according to United Nations figures.

Youssouf reiterated that the African Union remains committed to supporting Nigeria and the Lake Chad region in tackling terrorism and restoring peace.