The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has firmly rejected recent claims by U.S. President Donald Trump alleging that Christians are being systematically targeted and killed in Nigeria, describing the remarks as “false and dangerous.”

In a statement released Wednesday in Abuja and made available to Xinhua, the ECOWAS Commission emphasized that terrorism and violent extremism in the region affect people of all faiths and communities.

“Terrorist-related violence in West Africa does not discriminate based on gender, religion, ethnicity, or age,” the statement said. “The perpetrators of such violence target innocent civilians — Muslims, Christians, and followers of other religions alike.”

The regional bloc expressed solidarity with Nigeria, calling on the United Nations and international partners to reject any narrative suggesting that terrorist attacks in the region constitute a genocide against one particular religious group.

“ECOWAS calls on the UN and all partners to support member states in their fight against terrorist groups and to treat as false any claims that these groups target a single community,” the Commission said, warning that such allegations risk undermining peace efforts and social cohesion in the region.

The statement also underscored the bloc’s concern over the increasing levels of extremist violence in parts of West Africa, including Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, and urged the global community to stand in solidarity with affected states.

The ECOWAS response came after Trump, in a Truth Social post on Friday, claimed that “thousands of Christians are being killed in Nigeria by radical Islamists” and labeled Nigeria a “country of particular concern.”

Nigeria’s federal government swiftly dismissed the U.S. president’s remarks as “inaccurate and misleading,” reiterating its commitment to ensuring the safety and religious freedom of all citizens, regardless of faith.

“Nigeria remains fully committed to combating terrorism in all its forms and ensuring that no citizen — Christian, Muslim, or of any other faith — is persecuted,” the Nigerian Ministry of Information said earlier this week.

ECOWAS’s strong response reflects growing frustration in West African governments over what they see as oversimplified or divisive portrayals of the region’s complex security crisis.

The bloc reaffirmed its stance that terrorism in West Africa — driven by transnational armed groups and local instability — threatens all communities equally and requires collective regional and international cooperation to defeat. (ILKHA)