The head of the African Union (AU) Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has dismissed claims by US President Donald Trump that Christians are being targeted in a genocide in northern Nigeria, warning that such statements risk misrepresenting the complex nature of the conflict.
Speaking Thursday at a UN forum in New York alongside UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Youssouf said the AU had already issued a communiqué clarifying its position on the situation in Nigeria’s north.
“There is no genocide in northern Nigeria,” he said. “What’s happening there has nothing to do with the kind of atrocities we see in Sudan or eastern DRC.”
Youssouf explained that extremist violence in northern Nigeria, largely driven by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has affected both Muslims and Christians. “The first victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, not Christians — and this is well-documented,” he said.
He cautioned that simplified narratives could distort the realities of insecurity in the region, which are rooted in terrorism, displacement, and local competition over land and resources.
The AU chief’s remarks come amid international debate sparked by Trump’s recent comments alleging religiously motivated killings in Nigeria and suggesting possible US military intervention to protect Christian minorities.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly rejected such claims, maintaining that the violence in northern states is driven by terrorist and criminal groups rather than a campaign targeting any specific religious community.