This Dawn — The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its Secretary-General, Prof. Ishaq O. Oloyede, has declared that “there is no ‘Christian genocide’ in Nigeria”.
Prof. Oloyede made the declaration during a press conference in response to the United States government’s re-designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC).
NSCIA firmly rejected the claim of an alleged “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, describing it as a false, dangerous, and destabilising narrative.
Oloyede said that the narrative is promoted by foreign and domestic actors for political, economic, and ideological gains.
The NSCIA’s Position
Addressing journalists and diplomats, Oloyede emphasised that Nigeria’s security challenges are not religious in nature.
According to him, the challenges are rather complex socio-economic, climatic, and criminal issues that affect both Christians and Muslims alike.
He stated that the Council had deliberately refrained from portraying the killings of Muslims as “religious persecution” because the violence confronting the nation is a national security issue, not a war of faiths.
The Council expressed concern that Islamophobic elements, aided by unpatriotic Nigerians, misled the U.S. government.
It claimed that those elements lured the U.S. to believe that Nigeria is witnessing a systematic extermination of Christians.
According to the NSCIA, this false narrative has been weaponised to undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty and destabilise its internal harmony.
No Evidence of Genocide
Citing international legal definitions, the NSCIA referred to Article II of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention and Article 6 of the Rome Statute.
Both articles define genocide as the deliberate intent to destroy a group in whole or in part.
There is, the Council asserted, no evidence of such intent in Nigeria’s conflicts.
Rather, the country faces banditry, terrorism, and communal violence that cut across all lines of faith and ethnicity.
Independent bodies, including Amnesty International and Good Governance Africa, have consistently dismissed the genocide claim.
Amnesty’s Nigerian Director, Isa Sanusi, clarified that there is “no evidence of religious motivation” in the ongoing violence.
Other experts such as Samuel Malik noted that “no credible evidence exists of a state-led or coordinated campaign to exterminate Christians.”
Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) further confirms that Muslims and Christians are equally victims of Nigeria’s insecurity.
The Nature of Violence in Nigeria
Prof. Oloyede identified three primary drivers of the current violence:
Ecological and Climate Factors:
The NSCIA highlighted how desertification and drought in the Sahel have forced herders southward, intensifying conflicts over land and water with farming communities.
These farmer-herder clashes, common in Plateau and Benue States, are resource-based disputes, not religious wars.
Criminality and Banditry:
Armed groups in the Northwest and Northeast, motivated by poverty, unemployment, and illegal mining, have turned rural communities into targets.
These bandits attack indiscriminately, killing Muslims and Christians alike.
The U.S. State Department’s own reports acknowledge that banditry, not religion, drives much of Nigeria’s violence.
Governance Failure:
The Council stressed that years of corruption, weak law enforcement, and human rights abuses have created fertile ground for impunity.
What Nigeria faces, it said, is a failure of governance, not a campaign of religious persecution.
Foreign Manipulation and Domestic Exploitation
The NSCIA accused certain foreign politicians, evangelical groups, and separatist movements of exploiting Nigeria’s internal challenges.
It named U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Riley Moore as examples of Western politicians using the “Christian persecution” narrative to appeal to their domestic evangelical base.
The Council also accused Nigerian separatist groups, such as the Biafra Republic Government-in-Exile.
It claimed they lobby U.S. lawmakers and fabricate statistics — including the unverified claim that “52,000 Christians have been killed since 2009.”
These groups, the Council asserted, are “weaponising religion to advance separatist and political agendas,” funded by lobbyists who spend millions of dollars to paint Nigeria as a failed state.
NSCIA also denounced local “crisis entrepreneurs”—Nigerians who profit from spreading falsehoods about religious persecution to gain asylum, publicity, or foreign sponsorship.
Commendations and Rebuke
NSCIA condemned the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President for what it described as “false proclamations”.
It praised patriotic Christians who have acknowledged the complex, non-religious nature of Nigeria’s insecurity.
It cited CAN’s Director of National Issues, who admitted that violence in Nigeria “does not follow any religious pattern”.
Oloyede urged Nigerians to resolve national problems domestically rather than through foreign lobbying.
The Council also commended Femi Falana (SAN), Femi Fani-Kayode, Reno Omokri, and Governor Charles Soludo, among others, for their objective stance.
It warned that fabricating genocide claims could incite religious war, pushing Nigeria into the same chaos that destroyed countries like Iraq, Libya, and Syria.
U.S. Designation and Geopolitical Interests
The NSCIA rejected the U.S. re-imposition of the CPC designation, describing it as “an act of political cynicism.”
It argued that the decision was motivated not by facts, but by geopolitical rivalry and domestic politics in the U.S.
The Council noted that the designation was lifted in 2023 when the U.S. acknowledged Nigeria’s complex reality.
It emphasised that its re-imposition under President Trump coincides suspiciously with Nigeria’s growing diplomatic and economic ties with China.
The Council linked the “Christian genocide” narrative to far-right and pro-Israel actors.
It claimed it is designed to distract the world from the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and to create moral equivalence by falsely accusing Nigerian Muslims.
A Call for Unity and Responsible Partnership
The NSCIA urged all Nigerians, Muslims and Christians alike, to reject the falsehood of religious genocide.
“We are compatriots, not enemies,” the statement affirmed, stressing that both faith communities are victims of poverty, bad governance, and terrorism.
It called for collective action to rebuild national unity and resist foreign manipulation.
The Council further appealed to the U.S. government to withdraw its “disgrace” label on Nigeria and instead assist with intelligence, logistics, and security training.
True partnership, it said, must be built on mutual respect, not unilateral accusations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs reaffirmed that:
- There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria.
- There is no Muslim genocide in Nigeria.
- The crisis in Nigeria is driven by climate, criminality, and governance failure, not religion.
It called on the international community to reject divisive propaganda and support Nigeria’s fight against insecurity with integrity and fairness.
Prof. Oloyede ended with a firm declaration:
“We will not be defined by this lie, and we will not allow our country to be fragmented by a foreign agenda. The truth will prevail, and our unity as a nation will endure.”
