By Suleman Ayuba
(Maiduguri) The Federal Government in Abuja has pushed a wall of money against a growing wave of reports about the systematic persecution of Christians in the country, TruthNigeria has learned.
Records from the government’s expenditure tracking platform, GovSpend, reveal that N500 million (approximately $365,000 USD) was disbursed on December 19, 2025, under the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy Communications. The payment funded an “emergency Strategic Communications & Global Media Engagement to counter The systematic Christian persecution.”
This domestic spending coincided with an international lobbying push. Documents filed under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) show that Aster Legal, a Kaduna-based law firm, retained DCI Group, a U.S.-based public affairs and lobbying firm, on behalf of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. The agreement, signed on December 18, 2025, commits the Nigerian government to $750,000 USD monthly payments, totaling $9 million USD over one year if renewed, with an upfront $4.5 million USD six-month retainer.
The contract explicitly aims to assist in “communicating its actions to protect Nigerian Christian communities and maintaining U.S. support in countering West African jihadist groups and other destabilising elements.”
In its reporting on the contract, TheCable reported that the federal government hired the lobbying firm in a $9 million deal to communicate its efforts to protect Nigerian Christians to U.S. audiences.
These expenditures were logged in the same year U.S. President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) in October 2025. A CPC designation signals severe violations of religious freedom and can trigger sanctions, though waivers for national security interests may apply.
Despite the designation, U.S.-Nigeria security cooperation has increased, including intelligence sharing, training, and equipment support against Boko Haram and ISWAP.
The government released a letter from President Trump to President Bola Tinubu acknowledging violence affecting Christian communities while reaffirming partnership. Trump wrote: “I applaud your resolve to tackle the issues plaguing your nation, especially the violence affecting Christian communities, and it is a true honour to stand with you in the fight against terrorists…” The letter references the U.S.-Nigeria 2026 Defence Cooperation Roadmap, Bayo Onanuga,which the Nigerian Presidential Spokesperson posted on FaceBook.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz quickly swooped on the letter, charging that Nigerian officials had focused on a public relations campaign aimed at countering criticism rather than executing law enforcement to quell the threat. Cruz also drew attention to the problem that the letter appeared to lack President Trump’s signature.
Abuja Scrambles to Defend its Record
Without doubt, the fatalities from terrorism, ethnic cleansing and kidnapping have spiked on Pres. Tinubu’s watch from 2023, and presidential elections approach in January 2027,
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) analysis for July 2025 to June 2026 documents 7,956 conflict events in Nigeria, resulting in about 15,000 deaths. This equates to 663 incidents monthly, 126 weekly, and over 21 daily, with fatalities averaging 1,237 monthly, 285 weekly, and 41 daily. Nigeria accounted for 6.11 percent of global conflict-related deaths in the period.
Violence against civilians comprised 3,494 incidents, followed by 2,458 battles. Hardest-hit states include Borno (1,218 events), Katsina (958), Zamfara (885), Sokoto (599), Kaduna (390), Benue (377), and Plateau (346).
The Federal Government consistently frames the violence as driven by terrorism, banditry, communal conflicts, and criminality, asserting that both Christians and Muslims are victims and that operations target criminals irrespective of faith. President Tinubu has pledged to defeat terrorism and banditry, stating it is “not part of our culture. It’s foreign to us.”
International advocacy groups claim Christians face disproportionate targeting in certain regions, especially northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt where Pastors and churches are targeted.. The government rejects any notion of state-backed religious persecution.
The combined N500 million (approximately $365,000 USD) domestic campaign and $9 million U.S. lobbying contract demonstrate a dual-track strategy—domestic and international—to suppress and reframe narratives surrounding religious violence, analysts tell TruthNigeria.
This unfolds against ongoing security challenges drawing global attention. ACLED data underscores the intensity of insurgency, armed banditry, farmer-herder clashes, communal violence, separatist attacks, and kidnappings.
The government’s communications efforts highlight its position that the crisis is multifaceted criminality rather than targeted religious genocide, while continuing counterterrorism collaboration with partners like the United States.
Nigerian Media Coverage of Lobbying Efforts
Mainstream Nigerian media coverage of the domestic spending, including Daily Trust, TheCable, and LegitNgNigeria covered the issue with clinical detachment. Outlets largely have avoided deep scrutiny, chiefly focusing on the bare facts.
New Jersey-based Sahara Reporters has reported extensively on the pushback against the lobbying contract for six months. Its editorial drift underscores that the Administration of Bola Tinubu has prioritized expensive Washington public relations firms to win over Capitol Hill lawmakers instead of investing the cash into remediating the problem in the forests of the Middle Belt.
This synchronized restraint—whether driven by regulatory pressure, fear of reprisal, or entrenched access journalism— raises questions about whether Nigerian media is complicit in shielding the administration from sustained scrutiny over its multimillion-dollar efforts to whitewash allegations of religious genocide, even as independent and diaspora platforms plow into the stark disconnect between official denials and suffering on the ground.
Suleman Ayuba (Maiduguri) is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
