ABUJA, NIGERIA has rebuked its designation by the United States (US) for alleged violations of religious rights.<\/P>
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The designation follows religious tensions in Africa’s biggest country by population.<\/P>
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The country of an estimated 200 million people is suffering from some conflicts that have assumed religious dimensions.<\/P>
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These include the insurgency by the Islamist Boko Haram sect and bloodshed over resources, blamed on the mostly Muslim livestock herders against largely Christian farmers.<\/P>
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US designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern that engages in or tolerates severe violations of religious freedom.<\/P>
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Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Nigeria Minister of Information and Culture, accused the government of Donald Trump of fuelling mistrust among religious groups in the West African country.<\/P>
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Mohammed argued opposition politicians had misled the US through efforts to give religious connotations to the farmers-herders clashes and the Boko Haram insurgency.<\/P>
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The religious tag given to the clashes has no basis in fact, but it is very convenient for those who will very easily give the dog a bad name just to hang it, the minister stated.<\/P>
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He argued the farmers-herders clashes were not inspired by religion but environmental and socio-economic realities.<\/P>
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On its part, the Boko Haram terrorists are extreme fanatics who do not subscribe to the tenets of any religion, in spite of their pretence to Islamic adherence, Mohammed added.<\/P>
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A local human rights organisation however welcomed the classification of Nigeria by the US.<\/P>
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We plead with the US government to impose sanctions on the federal government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria stated.<\/P>
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Source: CAJ News Agency <\/P>
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