Major Christian organizations in Nigeria have strongly rejected the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs’ dismissal of Christian genocide allegations, creating a sharp religious divide over the characterization of the country’s security crisis.
The NSCIA had described reports of Christian genocide as “false, dangerous, and politically motivated,” attributing the violence to poverty, climate change, and criminality rather than religious persecution.
However, the President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, insisted that calling the targeted killings anything other than genocide would be a “desecration to the memory of thousands of victims.”
The Anglican Primate, Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, revealed that several pastors and their families remain in captivity after being abducted from their churches, urging the government to seek foreign help if unable to stop the violence.
Christian Association of Nigeria officials in Northern states corroborated these concerns, stating that denial of faith-based killings prevents meaningful solutions to Nigeria’s security challenges.
