The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has insisted that Nigeria is a safe country despite its insecurity challenges.

Idris disclosed this during an interview with CNN while reacting to claims of genocidal attacks against Christians.

He maintained that both Christians and Muslims have been attacked, stressing that it is wrong to claim that Nigeria is intolerant of religious freedom.

According to Idris: “Nigeria is not that bad. Yes, we have seen attacks on some Christians; we have also seen attacks on Muslims as well. But it’s wrong to characterize Nigeria as a country that does not tolerate religious freedom.

“It’s also wrong to say everywhere is not safe in Nigeria. Nigeria is indeed a safe country, but we do recognize that we have security challenges in the Northeast.

“Once upon a time, some of the territories in the Northeast were taken over by Boko Haram, but that is no longer the case. They were holding about 14 local governments at a time, but that is no longer the case.

“Traveling around the country was a problem at some point, but that is no longer the case. The government of Nigeria is working hard to ensure the protection of lives and property and to ensure that people go about their businesses.

“Some of the claims made by some officials in the U.S. are based on faulty data.”