China says it firmly supports the Nigerian government as it “leads its people on the development path suited to its national conditions”.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Beijing, Mao Ning, spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry, said “as Nigeria’s comprehensive strategic partner, China firmly opposes any country using religion and human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and threatening other countries with sanctions and force”.

Ning was answering a question on US President Donald Trump’s threat of military action in Nigeria over alleged persecution of Christians.

She also responded to the report that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is seeking military equipment from China, Russia, and Iran to prepare for possible attacks by the US.

China has a clear-cut stance on the US cracking down on so-called ‘drug cartels’ by force in the Caribbean Sea,” Ming said.

“China supports the effort of combating cross-border crimes through stronger international cooperation, and opposes using or threatening to use force in international relations

We stand against moves that undermine peace and stability in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, and oppose unilateral and excessive ‘enforcement operations’ against other countries’ vessels. We hope the U.S. will engage in normal law enforcement and judicial cooperation through bilateral and multilateral legal frameworks.”

Trump warned the Nigerian government to act fast to end the “killing of Christians” in the country.

He had also called Nigeria a “disgraced country”.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing’, to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” the US leader said.

I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action.

“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”

The Nigerian government has repeatedly baulked at claims of a Christian genocide in the country.

In a riposte to Trump’s redesignation, President Bola Tinubu said: “The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.

Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.”

Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has urged United States President Donald Trump to show support for Nigeria’s fight against insecurity rather than make comments that could destabilize the country.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abdulsalami, speaking from London in a telephone interview, warned that Trump’s recent comments about Nigeria being a “country of particular concern” could “jeopardize the nation’s hard-won unity.”

Naija News reports that on Friday, October 31, 2025, Trump announced that Nigeria had been redesignated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over what he described as “Christian genocide

He further warned that unless the Nigerian government acted swiftly, the United States would suspend all aid and might “unleash the Department of War” to deal with terrorists “attacking our cherished Christians.”

The comments sparked outrage across Nigeria, with political leaders and civil society groups describing the statements as “provocative and unnecessary.”

The Nigerian presidency has since announced that President Bola Tinubu and Trump are expected to meet to discuss the matter.

In his reaction, Abdulsalami described Trump’s remarks as a grave threat to national cohesion, urging Nigerians to remain united and avoid being drawn into divisive rhetoric.

Trump’s comments pose a grave threat to the country’s hard-won unity,” he said.

“At this critical time, unity, wisdom, and diplomacy must take precedence over division and pride.”

The elder statesman called on citizens to “put aside their differences” and defend the country’s sovereignty through peace and mutual respect.

Abdulsalami also appealed to the United States to adopt a more constructive approach toward Nigeria’s internal challenges, particularly in addressing insecurity, poverty, and terrorism.

“What Nigeria needs now is cooperation and strategic dialogue, not threats or labels,” he said.

“The U.S. should work with us to strengthen peace and security.”

He stressed that the international community should help developing nations like Nigeria through intelligence sharing, training, and diplomatic engagement rather than punitive declarations.

The former leader, who handed over power to a democratic government in 1999, noted that Nigeria must continue to rely on quiet diplomacy to manage international relations and safeguard its interests.

“Nigeria must continue to engage in quiet diplomacy to address any misunderstandings and protect its national interest,” he added.

The Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio ordered officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to seize her international passport, thereby preventing her from travelling abroad.

In a video obtained by Naija News on Tuesday, the visibly upset lawmaker was seen confronting immigration officers at the airport, accusing them of unlawfully restricting her movement.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, who shared details of the incident with journalists, described the alleged action as a violation of her fundamental human rights.

Hello, fellow Nigerians. I’m Senator Natasha. Having completed my second year in office, I decided to take a week off. I’m at the airport here, and my passport has been withheld again,” she said in the viral video.

She recalled a similar experience in the past when she was stopped from travelling despite having no pending charges or court orders restricting her movement.

“This same thing happened before when I was stopped from travelling even though I had committed no offence, and there was no court order restricting me,” she said.

According to the lawmaker, one of the immigration officers informed her that the directive came directly from the Senate President, who allegedly accused her of damaging Nigeria’s image through her interactions with international media.

The officer in charge told me that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he claimed that each time I go abroad, I ‘spoil the image of the country’ by granting interviews to international media,” Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged.

She decried what she called harassment and intimidation, insisting that her constitutional rights to freedom of movement and expression must be respected.

As of press time, neither the Nigeria Immigration Service nor the Office of the Senate President had issued any official response to the senator’s claims.