Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has stated that the country’s insecurity challenges should not be attributed to religion, insisting that criminal activities must be viewed strictly for what they are — crimes.
Fagbemi made the clarification while addressing a visiting delegation from the United States, noting that attempts to link banditry, terrorism, or violent attacks to any religion are misleading and unhelpful to national cohesion.
According to him, Nigeria’s insecurity is driven by economic hardship, criminal networks, political manipulation, and weak local enforcement, not by faith-based motives. He urged international partners to rely on verified intelligence rather than assumptions that can fuel division or misrepresentation.
The AGF reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to strengthening the justice system, enhancing counterterrorism operations, and improving collaboration with foreign partners — including the U.S. — to combat insecurity more effectively.
He stressed that Nigeria remains a religiously diverse, constitutionally secular nation, and warned against narratives that attempt to frame national security issues as conflicts between religious groups.