Sam Adeyemi, the senior pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, has said that debating the specifics of Christian-related violence in Nigeria is inappropriate.

He also expressed concern that military intervention by the United States could exacerbate the nation’s security issues.

Adeyemi’s remarks followed the US designation of Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ under Donald Trump, citing persecution of Christians and the possibility of military action.

Speaking during a Thursday news conference celebrating the church’s 30th anniversary, he warned that US involvement might lead to disorder.

The minister stressed that Nigeria’s progress and security require honest dialogue about the country’s direction.

“It is open knowledge that some of the people that support the killing of Christians are powerful,” Adeyemi said.

“Some of them are at the highest levels of government. And some of them are wealthy. So, it is not something America will throw bombs on the ground, and it will disappear.
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“At the end of the day, they will go and we will still have to sit down and have a discussion.

“It may seem like, oh, we are divided along tribal lines. Those are not really issues in our country. The big issue is, do we want this country to become a developed economy? The countries from which they brought the religions have developed economies.”

Adeyemi said that Nigerians have overlooked Trump’s message by focusing too much on whether there is a Christian genocide or not, emphasising that it is a matter of semantics.

“It will not be contested, because the evidence is everywhere,” he said.

“It is on the internet. The pictures are there. The numbers are there. So, we should not argue over what should or should not be called a genocide. It does not reduce the impact of the loss of life.

“Especially the members of the families of those who have been killed. Some of them in very gruesome manners. We should not be so insensitive as to be arguing over semantics.”

He claimed that the US's concern over the killings in Nigeria arises from its belief in the sanctity of human life, noting that some Nigerian terror victims have reported the situation to the American government.

“We should ask ourselves: do we value human life in our country to the extent that we will now be arguing whether the English word we used is correct or not?” he asked.

“We have left the main issues. What is the value of a life in our country? Why should people be killed like that? That then gives us the bigger picture.

“The fact is that people are being killed everyday in our country for reasons for which they should not die.

“So, we cannot contest the fact that so many people who are being killed are Christians.”