The Federal Government has said that it is not denying the scale of killings across the country but is instead taking significant steps to address security challenges in Nigeria.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this during an appearance on Channels Television’s programme Politics Today on Friday.

“Yes, we have people being killed, no doubt about that, and the government is not shying away or denying this,” the minister said.

He explained that some deaths arise from religious tensions, economic pressures, and persistent communal clashes, especially in the Middle Belt.

Idris added that no administration gains anything from allowing such violence and noted that the President is “deeply saddened” by every life lost.

“Do we have people killed? Yes. Is it a good thing? No. Is the government doing anything? Quite a lot.

“We should not have a situation where anybody is killed, whether Christians or Muslims,” the minister said.

The information minister once again dismissed suggestions of religious genocide, insisting that both Christians and Muslims suffer from extremist violence.

“You have jihadist extremism coming from the North-East, and this is a sixteen-year struggle,” he noted.

He stressed that these extremists kill both Muslims and Christians, making the genocide narrative inaccurate.

The minister added that, before President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, President Tinubu had already overhauled the security architecture by replacing service chiefs to strengthen operations.