President Bola Tinubu hosted the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Most Reverend Ignatius Kaigama, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, 4 November 2025. Although the Presidency released photographs of the meeting, the specific details and purpose of the closed-door discussions were not immediately disclosed. The engagement, however, comes at a sensitive time amidst global allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria.
The meeting formed part of the President’s ongoing engagements with religious leaders across the country, believed to be aimed at strengthening interfaith harmony, promoting national unity, peace, and supporting national development efforts. The discussion is widely speculated to have centred on the recent declaration by US President Donald Trump, who labelled Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over alleged killings of Christians and threatened potential US military intervention if the violence continued.
President Trump’s threat, issued on Friday, 31 October 2025, followed weeks of international scrutiny and claims by some US lawmakers alleging “systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians” in Nigeria. Although the Nigerian President had previously responded, reaffirming Nigeria’s constitutional commitment to religious liberty and maintaining that religious persecution had no place in the country, the US President stood his ground, instructing the US Department of War to prepare for possible action in Nigeria.
The Presidency had earlier stated that President Tinubu would meet with President Trump in the coming days to discuss the allegations of Christian genocide, aiming to clarify facts and strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation.
