US Excludes Nigerian Officials From Nicki Minaj’s UN Briefing on Christian Attacks — Envoy Condemns Move
Story: written by Daniel November 20,2025
Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations has strongly protested its exclusion from a U.S.-organized briefing in which American rapper Nicki Minaj claimed that Christians in Nigeria are being deliberately targeted and killed.
Syndoph Endoni, the chargé d’affaires at Nigeria’s UN mission, said U.S. officials prevented Nigerian representatives from entering the closed-door session held on Tuesday at the UN headquarters, despite the discussion focusing directly on allegations involving Nigeria.
Endoni argued that excluding the country being accused was inappropriate and unfair. “It is essential that the nation referenced in allegations of genocide against Christians be present, informed, and allowed to speak. Anything less is like shaving our head in our absence,” he said, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Minaj, invited by Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, told participants that Christians in Nigeria “are being targeted, displaced, and killed.”
Endoni explained that Patricia Mahoney, a senior U.S. adviser on African affairs, had earlier notified him of the meeting and confirmed that several UN member states and a Nigerian pastor were invited. However, she reportedly emphasized that no Nigerian government official would be allowed to attend because the meeting was considered “private.”
The Nigerian envoy criticized the approach as an attempt to “name and shame,” warning that such actions could create unnecessary tension within Nigeria. He stressed that the government is not dismissing ongoing security concerns.
According to NAN, U.S. officials later defended the exclusion, saying it was necessary to protect certain participants who felt unsafe speaking in the presence of Nigerian representatives.
