Nicki Minaj ignited a digital storm across Nigerian social media after reposting a statement from former President Donald Trump that labeled Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged religious freedom violations.
The Hip-Hop icon shared Trump’s claim that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria” and that “Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter.”
Alongside the repost, Minaj added her own thoughts, writing on X, “Reading this made me feel a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can freely worship God. No group should ever be persecuted for practising their religion. We don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other.”
Reading this made me feel a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can freely worship God.
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) November 1, 2025
No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion. We don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other.
Numerous countries all… pic.twitter.com/2M5sPiviQu
That post quickly drew sharp responses from Nigerians who accused the rapper of amplifying a distorted narrative about the country’s internal strife.
Critics pointed out that the violence in Nigeria is more complex than religious persecution, often rooted in land disputes, terrorism and organized crime.
“Suddenly there’s a campaign about something that happened in Nigeria, and they want to blame Muslims. The funny thing is, Nicki Minaj suddenly cares about Christianity but stays silent about what’s happening to Christians in Gaza. So that seems to be orchestrated by someone,” one user said.
Another user urged Minaj to stay out of Nigerian political discourse.
“Nicki Minaj is misinformed, Nigeria has a population of around 240m, about half are Christians, that is over 100m Christians, Nigeria has huge mega churches with 100,000 seater auditoriums. There is no Christian genocide, there is a security issue which is affecting everybody,” \@minzdyna said.
Another critic, @kawugarba , outright rejected Trump’s claims.
“There is no ethnic or religious group that is being persecuted in Nigeria. What we have are Boko Haram terrorists, and they don’t discriminate; in fact, they attack and kill more Muslims while praying at mosques than any other faith in the country.”
Trump’s full statement included the claim that “Thousands of Christians are being killed” in Nigeria and added, “When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done! The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries.”
While she faced some backlash, many people supported her stance and her backing of President Trump.