The United States said Nigeria “must do more to protect Christians” following a mass kidnapping across several churches in Kaduna state, as a high-level security meeting kicked off in Abuja on Thursday.

But in a speech, a senior State Department official leading the US delegation omitted any mention of Muslim victims of violence in Africa’s most populous country.

The remarks come as Abuja has been under diplomatic pressure by Washington over violence that US President Donald Trump says amounts to “genocide” and “persecution” of Christians.

That framing is rejected by the Nigerian government and independent analysts in the country, which faces overlapping security challenges that kill both Muslim and Christian civilians alike.

“The government of Nigeria must do more to protect Christians and their right to practise their faith freely and safely,” said Allison Hooker, State Department under secretary for political affairs, referencing the kidnapping of more than 170 people from several churches.

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Hooker is the highest US government official to visit Nigeria under the Trump administration.

The attack in Kaduna state on Sunday was the latest mass abduction to rock the country, blamed on armed gangs known as “bandits”.

Further controversy was stirred after police initially denied that the attack happened.

Villagers who survived the kidnapping or escaped recounted the attack.

The kidnappers “surrounded the village entirely. If you run to one side they’ll be there, if you run to another, they’ll be there,” Ishaku Danzumi Kurmin, who escaped, told AFP.

“They beat us and took us to the bush,” where they found a bandits leader. “They beat us again,” he said, adding he hid in a water well and later escaped.

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For Alice Joseph, 42, whose parents were seized, kidnapping is commonplace.

“For the past four years, every year they come,” she said recalling that her husband and children, were previously kidnapped.

“And now this year my parents are among those kidnapped,” including her brother, she said, sobbing, arms wrapped on her head, in despair. “I now have no solace but God.”

A blue plastic chair and music instruments lay on the floor of the one of the churches when the state governor visited the area on Wednesday — four days after the raid.

According to an official source, 68 children and 56 women are among those in captivity.

– Muslim victims not mentioned –

Nigeria has emerged from the worst of the US pressure campaign, with Trump last year threatening unilateral military intervention.

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But Hooker’s focus on Christian victims shows Abuja will have to continue to grapple with Washington’s agenda as the two countries advance security cooperation following joint strikes on militants late last year.

“We are here to discuss how we can work together to deter violence against Christian communities,” Hooker told the Nigerian delegation, according to prepared remarks.

Other US priorities include “countering terrorism and insecurity; investigating attacks and holding perpetrators accountable; and reducing the number of killings, forced displacements, and abductions of Christians in the north central states”.

Muslim victims of armed groups were not mentioned.

Nigeria is battling a slew of armed groups.

Bandit gangs raid villages and conduct kidnappings for ransom across the northwest, while a jihadist insurgency in the northeast has raged since 2009, killing both Christians and Muslims.

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The centre of the country sees clashes between mostly Christian farmers and Muslim Fulani herders, though researchers say the conflict flares over dwindling resources rather than religion.

As Nigeria came under US pressure late last year, a brazen kidnapping at St. Mary’s Catholic school in Niger state saw more than 250 students abducted.

Hooker Thursday falsely said all the victims of the St. Mary’s kidnapping were Christian.

“On the protection of Christians, the Nigerian government recently secured the release of 38 Christians abducted from a church in Kwara state, and another 265 abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic school,” she said.

The school includes students who are Muslims, some of whom were kidnapped.

“We have Muslims amongst them,” Daniel Atori, a spokesman for the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state, told AFP Thursday.

Senegalese authorities have cancelled offshore exploration rights previously held by Atlas Oranto Petroleum, a privately owned oil and gas company founded by Nigerian billionaire Arthur Eze, in a move that underscores the government’s tougher stance on inactive petroleum licenses.

According to Business Insider, the decision reflects Senegal’s drive to strengthen regulation of its energy sector and accelerate the commercial development of its hydrocarbon resources.

The license was withdrawn after the company failed to meet key operational and financial obligations attached to the asset.

The government revoked the Cayar Offshore Shallow exploration license after determining that Atlas Oranto had not provided the required bank guarantees and had carried out only limited exploration work since the block was awarded in 2008, despite several deadline extensions.

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The offshore block, which spans about 3,600 square kilometers north of the Dakar peninsula, is regarded as oil-prospective but remains largely underexplored. While seismic surveys identified several potential leads, no exploratory wells were drilled throughout the license period.

Under the oversight of Energy and Petroleum Minister Birame Souleye Diop, the ministry formally terminated the license in September 2025, citing repeated failures by the company to fulfill contractual and financial requirements. Industry sources referenced in early 2026 also confirmed that there was little meaningful seismic or drilling activity on the block.

Senegal has since taken back control of the acreage, describing the move as part of a broader effort by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s administration to enforce compliance and apply stricter screening standards to petroleum license holders.

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The decision places Senegal among a growing number of African oil-producing countries reassessing legacy exploration contracts signed during earlier licensing rounds. Across the continent, governments are facing increasing pressure to ensure that oil and gas rights result in tangible investment, drilling, and production, rather than being held for speculative purposes.

The revocation has also renewed scrutiny of Atlas Oranto’s wider regional operations. In Liberia, the company secured four offshore production-sharing contracts in September 2025, covering Blocks LB-15, LB-16, LB-22, and LB-24 in the Liberian Basin. Those agreements reportedly included a signature bonus of between $12 million and $15 million, with proposed investments exceeding $200 million per block.

Liberian authorities described the deals as an attempt to revitalize a petroleum sector that has seen minimal activity for more than a decade. However, Atlas Oranto has yet to issue an official response to Senegal’s decision at the time of filing this report.

A Court in the United Kingdom has ruled against blogger Maureen Badejo, ordering her to pay £100,000 in damages to Dr. Daniel Olukoya, founder of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), and his wife, after she lost a defamation case.

The UK High Court of Appeal, Queen’s Bench Division, presided over by the Honourable Mr Justice Lavender, affirmed the orders of Master Thormett made on 13 April 2021 and 3 February 22 in the case with reference number QB-2020-003625, brought by the appellant. The court found Badejo’s online statements about the couple to be false and defamatory. She was ordered to pay £65,000 to Dr. Olukoya and £35,000 to his wife.

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In giving the order, “The court ruled that the defendant’s online statements were false and defamatory,” and ordered Badejo to publicly retract her claims and share a summary of the court’s judgment on her social media accounts.

Giving the grounds for the order, Mr Lavender said the permission to appeal was refused as the application lacked merit and in pursuance of CPR52.4(3), the defendant may not request this decision to be reconsidered at an oral hearing.

Insofar as the Defendant seeks permission to appeal against Master Thormett’s order of 3 February 2022(the second order), her proposed grounds of appeal are both hopeless and pointless.”

Badejo’s appeal was unsuccessful, and the court maintained its decision, emphasising that false accusations have consequences and individuals are protected against defamatory statements.