A tense confrontation unfolded on Piers Morgan’s show on Tuesday night as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and former Canadian lawmaker Goldie Ghamari clashed over allegations of systematic persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Tuggar appeared on the programme to challenge what he described as exaggerated and misleading narratives surrounding Nigeria’s security crisis.
Morgan had earlier cited figures from the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), suggesting that more than 50,000 Christians had been killed and 18,000 churches destroyed since 2009.
The minister rejected the statistics, insisting that the government does not record deaths based on religion.
He maintained that all victims of insecurity — regardless of faith — are regarded as Nigerians.
Tuggar said the government’s records show that 177 Christians were killed and 102 churches attacked in the last five years.
However, tensions escalated when Morgan brought Ghamari, a former Canadian Member of Parliament, into the discussion.
The former lawmaker accused the Nigerian government of enabling extremist violence, likening the situation to jihadist attacks in the Middle East.
She pointed to the Islamic faith of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima as supposed evidence of bias, and alleged covert ties between Nigeria and Iran.
Ghamari further claimed that Nigerian schoolchildren seen holding portraits of Iran’s Ayatollah were proof of suspicious ideological influence.
Accusing the minister of dishonesty, she said: “I was a politician for seven years; that’s exactly what he’s doing, and shame on him for lying.”
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Tuggar dismissed Ghamari’s remarks as uninformed, accusing her of trivialising Nigeria’s complex realities from the safety of distance.
He pushed back against the religious framing of Nigeria’s leadership, noting that political considerations in the country are more regional than religious.
He also disclosed his personal experience with terrorism, revealing that Boko Haram militants killed his father-in-law and other Muslim relatives.
Tuggar stressed that extremists in Nigeria target anyone who opposes their ideology, whether Christian or Muslim.
Ghamari, however, insisted that the targeting of Muslims does not erase what she described as the “ethnic cleansing” of Christians.
This prompted a blistering retort from the minister, who accused the Canadian politician of peddling misinformation for personal or political gain and of lacking any real understanding of Nigeria’s ethnic landscape.
Tuggar said: “You don’t care about the loss of lives. For you, it’s just another black country to be broken up. You don’t care who dies.
“It’s not going to happen to Nigeria. Move on to your next project. You’re a disgrace. You’re a disgrace to the Canadian nation. I’m shocked that you say that you actually practice as a politician in Canada. Move on to the next episode. Leave us alone.”
Morgan ended the segment moments later as the exchange continued to intensify.
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