ABUJA – In a strongly-worded public lecture, academic Dr. Nwankwo T. Nwaezeigwe has endorsed potential US military intervention in Nigeria, arguing it represents the only solution to stop what he describes as “genocide against Christians” in the country.
The lecture, organized by Apostolic Roundtable Nigeria in collaboration with Middle Belt Voice, presented a detailed justification for US President Donald Trump’s recent designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” and his threat of military action.
Dr. Nwaezeigwe compared President Trump to biblical figures Joshua and Moses, stating: “Nigerian Christians see themselves as those Children of Israel, that Joshua in President Donald Trump and, the wall of Jericho, the collapsing evil Federal Islamic Republic of Nigeria.” He described Nigerian Christians as “political orphans” who now have Trump as their “foster-father.”
The academic cited international legal definitions of genocide from both the United Nations Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, arguing that the systematic killing of Christians meets the criteria for both genocide and crimes against humanity.
He specifically praised three religious leaders – Catholic Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, and Prophet Isa El-Buba – as modern-day “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego” for their outspoken stance against the violence.
While acknowledging that some Muslims have also been victims of violence, Dr. Nwaezeigwe maintained this doesn’t invalidate the specific case of genocide against Christians, stating: “If the Muslim victims feel that their own case is equally the crime of genocide, the onus is on them to prove it.”
The lecture represents one side of an increasingly polarized debate in Nigeria regarding international intervention, with the Nigerian government and many citizens strongly opposing any foreign military action as a violation of national sovereignty.
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Disclaimer: This article reports on the views expressed in an academic lecture and does not represent the position of CDA News. The situation in Nigeria involves complex inter-communal conflicts with multiple perspectives. The Nigerian government maintains that it is addressing security challenges and rejects characterization of religious genocide.
