The Republic of China and US Congressman have differed on the planned military action by President Donald Trump against Nigeria over alleged genocide perpetrated against Christians in Nigeria.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Mao Ning, spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry, said China firmly opposes any country using religion and human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and threatening other countries with sanctions and force.
But, a member of the United States House of Representatives, Riley Moore, has hit back at the Peoples Republic of China for throwing weight behind Nigeria amidst threats over alleged Christian genocide saga.
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Trump had at the weekend asked the US Department of War to prepare for “possible action” in Nigeria and urged the Nigerian government to act fast to end the “killing of Christians” in the country.
Describing Nigeria as a “disgraced country”, the US president said, “If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing’, to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.
However, the Tinubu-led administration has dismissed the claim, insisting that such claims are not the realities of Nigeria’s security challenges.
Ning was answering a question on Trump’s threat of military action in Nigeria over alleged persecution of Christians.
“As Nigeria’s comprehensive strategic partner, China firmly supports the Nigerian government in leading its people on the development path suited to its national conditions.
“China firmly opposes any country using religion and human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and threatening other countries with sanctions and force,” Ning said.
The Chinese government, therefore, pledged its firm support to the President Bola Tinubu administration amid threats of military action by United States President Donald Trump.
China’s stance may not be disconnected from its interest in Nigeria and its resources exploited over the years.
For example, Nigeria’s debt to China was approximately $5.16 billion as of the second half of 2023, according to data from Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO). This amount represented a significant portion of Nigeria’s total bilateral debt with China through the Exim Bank of China.
China’s investments in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry are extensive, reported at $16 billion. Chinese companies like the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) operate numerous oil wells.
Nigeria is a crucial source of oil for China’s economy, with companies like CNOOC producing a significant volume of oil daily. Beyond oil, China imports other mineral resources from Nigeria, such as copper, aluminum, and ores, slag, and ash.
There are reports of illegal mining activities by Chinese nationals, leading to arrests and the closure of mining operations for lacking authorization.
Minerals like titanium ore and lepidolite are among those involved in illegal mining incidents.
US Congressman fires China
Moore, a congressman representing West Virginia’s 2nd District, while reacting on Tuesday via his X page, said President Trump was right in his defense of Christians in Nigeria, questioning China’s authority to decide foreign policy to the U.S.
According to him, a Communist autocracy who he claimed recently arrested 30 Christian pastors for their faith cannot lecture the United States on its foreign affairs.
“President Trump is absolutely right to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering horrific persecution, and even martyrdom, for their faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. China will not dictate our foreign policy to us, and we will not be lectured to by a Communist autocracy that recently arrested 30 Christian pastors for their faith and throws ethnic minorities in concentration camps,” Moore’s X post quoting China’s page reads.
EU Stands with Nigeria
Equally, Tuesday, the European Union (EU) expressed solidarity with Nigeria, declaring full respect for the country’s sovereignty and reaffirming its commitment to strengthen cooperation in peacebuilding, interfaith dialogue, and human rights protection.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, made the remarks during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
Mignot, while reacting to recent comments by Trump threatening possible military action against Nigeria, said EU’s position was guided by “long-standing partnership and shared values” with Nigeria, not external influence.
He said, “Our position is one of solidarity with Nigeria. Solidarity with the victims of violence, with the authorities working to protect citizens, and with the Nigerian people who overwhelmingly desire peaceful coexistence beyond ethnic and religious divides.
“We respect Nigeria’s sovereignty and constitutional commitment to religious neutrality.”
Mignot promised that EU was ready to enhance its support in peace, security and defence matters, as well as through dialogue with all stakeholders, including civil society organisations, and traditional and religious leaders.
Mignot, while assuring that EU would continue to implement several peacebuilding initiatives across the country to promote peaceful coexistence, said, “We also support programmes on de-radicalisation, demobilisation, and re-integration of ex-members of non-state armed groups in the North-east.”
He assured of EU’s continued commitment to the protection of all communities, especially the minorities, with the freedom of religion and belief, acknowledging that while Nigeria faces challenges in human rights and freedom of religion, its legal and institutional framework provides for fundamental freedoms.
Mignot said, “The situation is not perfect, as in any country, but there exists a constitutional basis for the protection of human rights. It is up to Nigerian authorities and society as a whole to uphold and strengthen this environment of peaceful coexistence.”
The envoy stressed that EU worked closely with civil society organisations on projects promoting interfaith dialogue and good relations among religious communities. He stated that EU’s support was non-discriminatory, covering all victims of violence, irrespective of the motives.
Mignot said EU’s engagement with Nigeria remained steady and predictable, adding that the cooperation between both parties is not driven by what others do but by “shared interest in a stable, prosperous, and democratic Nigeria”.
Mignot disclosed that a peace, security and defence dialogue between Nigeria and EU was expected soon as part of efforts to deepen strategic cooperation.
He emphasised that EU’s guiding principle was to help Nigeria reinforce stability and prosperity, stressing that the country’s future “lies firmly in the hands of Nigerians themselves”.
However, European Union is not a direct credit lending parthner to Nigeria but has financial obligations generally to individual member countries or through EU-backed financial institutions like the European Investment Bank (EIB).
European Investment Bank, the EU’s lending arm, recently approved a €190 million (about N320.5 billion) credit facility for on-lending to agribusinesses.
In July 2024, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi, announced that the Nigerian government had cleared an outstanding backlog of $850 million owed to European airlines, which was a commercial debt related to the repatriation of ticket sales, not a sovereign loan from the EU itself.
The EU is a major trading partner and the largest foreign investor in Nigeria, with a stock estimated at €26 billion (about one-third of Nigeria’s foreign direct investment), but this represents investment, not debt owed by the Nigerian government.
Bayo Onanuga, spokesman to Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, shared China’s reaction on his X handle on Tuesday.
Onanuga had spoken severally, on behalf of the Presidency, denying religious discrimination and persecution of any kind in Nigeria.
Moore tackles Kwakwanso on killings of Christians
Meanwhile, a United States lawmaker, Riley Moore, has accused former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, of being complicit in the killing of Christians in Nigeria.
Moore made the allegation following Kwankwaso’s reaction to reports of a planned U.S. military intervention in Nigeria.
Taking to social media, Moore questioned the former governor’s record, writing: “Governor, do you care to comment on your own complicity in the death of Christians? You instituted Sharia law. You signed the law that makes so-called blasphemy punishable by death.”
Kwankwaso, who served as Kano State governor when Sharia law was implemented in November 2000, had earlier responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks on Nigeria’s security situation.
In his statement, Kwankwaso cautioned the U.S. against taking unilateral action, describing Nigeria as a sovereign nation struggling with security threats that cut across religious and ethnic lines.
“The insecurity we face does not distinguish based on religious, ethnic, or political beliefs,” he said, urging the U.S. to support Nigeria through advanced technology and diplomacy rather than threats of military action.
Kwankwaso also called for Nigeria to appoint special envoys and ambassadors to engage Washington constructively, insisting on unity over division among Nigerians.
Meanwhile, Moore has pledged to pursue investigations into what he described as “genocide against Christians” in Nigeria.
