The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, has cautioned Nigerians against promoting or believing divisive propaganda that portrays the country as unsafe or religiously divided, warning that such rhetoric could destabilize Nigeria in the same way foreign misinformation devastated Iraq and Libya.
Issa-Onilu issued the warning on Wednesday in Abuja during the 2025 Press Week organised by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He urged Nigerians to disregard exaggerated foreign commentaries and unfounded reports of “Christian genocide,” following recent claims by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, which the Nigerian government has firmly rejected.
“Nobody takes Senator Ted Cruz seriously. Any Nigerian promoting such a narrative should have a rethink,” Issa-Onilu said.
“They should learn from what happened to Libya and Iraq. The world was deceived with propaganda about weapons of mass destruction, and today those nations are in ruins. We must be careful not to let propaganda destroy Nigeria.”
The NOA chief warned that information warfare has become one of the most effective tools used to destabilize nations, urging journalists and opinion leaders to uphold truth, objectivity, and patriotism in their work.
Also speaking, the Chairperson of the NUJ, FCT Council, Grace Ike, emphasized the media’s central role in promoting national unity, ethics, and shared values.
“The media not only informs and educates but also shapes the values that bind our nation together. In today’s fast-paced information age, promoting unity and responsibility is more crucial than ever,” she said.
The claims of religious genocide in Nigeria have since been dismissed by major faith groups, including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), who both described the allegations as baseless and harmful to national harmony.
