Rome: A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has commended President Bola Tinubu for his ‘remarkable representation’ of Nigeria at the high-level AQABA Process counter-terrorism summit held recently in Rome, Italy. The CSOs, which include Inclusive Citizens Advancement Network (Inc-CAN) and Concerned Professionals Congress (CPC), praised the president’s leadership and strategic security initiatives.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the coalition, in a joint statement issued in Abuja by Inc-CAN’s Convener, Emeka Nwankpa, and CPC’s Northern Rapporteur, Baba Kasim Baba, described Tinubu’s presentation at the summit as a brilliant, fact-based showcase of Nigeria’s ongoing counter-terrorism efforts. The CSOs also lauded the Nigerian delegation, which included key security and defense figures, for effectively presenting Nigeria’s achievements and security reforms at the summit.
The Defense Minister, Badaru Abubakar, National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, and Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed, were among those who represented Nigeria at the summit. The delegation also included the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and other members of Nigeria’s security architecture.
The coalition also welcomed the strong dismissal of ‘Christian genocide’ claims in Nigeria by a U.S. presidential envoy, Massad Boulos, who addressed the matter during his visit to Rome. It emphasized that the envoy’s rejection of Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s proposed ‘Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Bill’ was timely and helped to ease growing tensions back home.
According to the coalition, Boulos’ clarification that terrorism in Nigeria affects both Muslims and Christians equally is a welcomed rebuttal to misleading foreign narratives. The CSOs endorsed the envoy’s comments, describing them as factual, honest, and reflective of Nigeria’s current situation, especially in dealing with insurgency and insecurity holistically.
The coalition criticized foreign voices claiming genocide in Nigeria, describing them as either ignorant or willfully dishonest. It accused ‘certain foreign voices’ of trying to destabilize Nigeria through misleading claims, particularly now that security forces were recording visible gains across several fronts.
The group emphasized that the conflicts are not driven by religion but stem from criminality, ethnic tensions, land disputes, and political sabotage exploited by terror networks and bad actors. It urged media organizations against spreading misinformation and called on foreign observers to understand that terrorism in Nigeria is ideological and criminal rather than a religious war, as evidenced by the destruction of both mosques and churches.
The coalition stated that Tinubu inherited a country grappling with insecurity from multiple fronts but had responded with coordinated, intelligence-driven counter-terrorism strategies to restore peace.