Nigeria’s National Orientation Agency (NOA) has urged citizens to reject what it described as foreign propaganda portraying the country as unsafe or divided along religious lines, warning that such narratives could destabilise the nation.
NOA Director-General Lanre Issa-Onilu issued the warning on Wednesday at the 2025 Press Week organised by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Abuja.
He cautioned that lending credence to divisive foreign narratives could push Nigeria toward the kind of instability seen in Iraq and Libya.
“Any Nigerian pushing such a narrative should have a rethink. They should read about what happened to Libya and Iraq,” Issa-Onilu said. “With all the propaganda about weapons of mass destruction, those claims later proved false. But where is Iraq today? We should be careful.”
He dismissed recent comments by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz alleging religious persecution in Nigeria, saying: “Nobody takes Senator Ted Cruz seriously. I do not see any respect, dignity or integrity around him.”
Issa-Onilu called on journalists to resist being used as instruments for destabilisation, noting that information warfare has become a major threat to national sovereignty.
Earlier, Grace Ike, Chairperson of the NUJ’s Federal Capital Territory Council, highlighted the media’s role in fostering unity and shaping national identity.
“The media not only informs and educates but also shapes the values that bind our nation together,” Ike said. “Through responsible journalism, we uphold transparency, accountability and dialogue.”
Claims of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria resurfaced earlier this month after Cruz, during a podcast with U.S. television host Bill Maher, alleged that Christians were being systematically targeted. Maher and political commentator Van Jones echoed the claims, accusing the Nigerian government of complicity.
The Nigerian government swiftly rejected the allegations, saying insecurity in the country is driven by terrorism, banditry and criminality, not religion.
Two weeks ago, the Nigerian Senate also dismissed the claims as “false, divisive and capable of undermining national unity.”
