NSCIA rejects US claim of Christian genocide, says Nigeria’s insecurity driven by terrorism, not religion

Nigeria’s highest Islamic body, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), has strongly condemned what it described as a “false and dangerous narrative” by the United States government alleging a Christian genocide in Nigeria.

The council said such claims are misleading and threaten Nigeria’s sovereignty, insisting that the country’s security challenges are driven by terrorism, criminality, and ecological pressures rather than religion.

The NSCIA made this known at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday at the end of a meeting of all Islamic organisations in Nigeria.

Ishaq Oloyode, secretary-general of the NSCIA, who briefed journalists after the meeting, said Nigeria is not fighting a religious war.

“We have not been emphasising the killings of Muslims because we do not see it as a religious war, but a national security issue. The world is aware that some Islamophobic and unpatriotic Nigerians had authored a dangerous script, promoted it in Western circles especially in the United States and got the attention of the highest levels of the United States government, which are erroneously made to believe that there is a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria,” Mr Oloyede said.

The NSCIA cited the United Nations’ definition of genocide, noting that the current situation in Nigeria does not meet that threshold. It also referenced reports by Amnesty International, which found no credible evidence of religiously motivated killings to justify branding the crisis as “Christian genocide.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, what Nigeria faces is a complex and tragic perennial security crisis that brings immeasurable pain to all its citizens, regardless of faith or ethnic persuasion. From Katsina to Borno and from Benue to Plateau, as well as in Kaduna and Kwara, Nigeria bleeds through gruesome savagery against Muslims and Christians, Imams and priests.

Non-partisan experts have refuted this blackmail and Amnesty International, which methodically investigated the insecurity in Nigeria, had stated that there is “no evidence of a religious motivation” to characterise it as genocide. According to Isa Sunusi, the Director of Amnesty’s Nigeria Programme.”

“Under Article Il of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 9 and Article 6 of the Rome Statute 11, the crime is defined by a critical “mental element” known as dolus specialis. This is the specific “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”.

“There is nothing of such in Nigeria,” the council said, adding that the genocide claim completely collapses when confronted with reality, context and verifiable data.

“The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) report of 2022 proves conclusively that the overwhelming driver of violence in Nigeria is not anti-Christian persecution, as Muslims and people of other faiths are also overwhelmingly affected.”

The Islamic council added that the insecurity in parts of the country, particularly in the central region, has ecological and criminal roots — not an Islamist invasion.

According to the NSCIA, the major drivers of the crisis are environmental degradation, organised criminality, and illicit artisanal mining of solid minerals. “This is a violent, organised crime racket for resources and there is nothing Islamic about it,” it said.

It added that failure of governance over a long period has enabled the violence in Nigeria.

“Studies have revealed how endemic corruption, lack of accountability for human rights abuses and failure to provide basic security for citizens have over time created a vacuum for impunity.”

Calls for US cooperation, not condemnation

The NSCIA criticised what it called “sensational and irresponsible rhetoric” from sections of the US political establishment, saying such language undermines Nigeria’s image and complicates efforts to address insecurity.

“When the US President, Mr Donald Trump labeled our country “disgraced”, every right-thinking Nigerian was concerned because an ally that is determined to help a sovereign country to “completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities” would offer to assist and collaborate with the country and not use such language to describe a country it aims to partner in wiping out the terrorists.”

The Islamic council reaffirmed that Nigeria’s challenges are complex and multidimensional — spanning terrorism, banditry, resource conflicts, and poverty — and should not be reduced to a simplistic religious framing.

The NSCIA praised some prominent Nigerian Christians who have publicly rejected the genocide narrative, including Femi Falana, Femi Fani-Kayode, and Reno Omokri, among others.

“For being factual, we also commend individuals like Mr Femi Falana, SAN, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, Reno Omokri and Gov. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, among numerous other Christians for their sincerity, while we denounce irresponsible bigots in religious garbs and ethnic irredentists who fail to realise that you don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.

The citizens that falsely concoct a genocide claim, which is capable of igniting divisions and religious war that can turn the country into a battlefield field are neither patriotic nor Godly. Countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, etc. are worse off today because bombs don’t discriminate destruction.”

‘Foreign interests pushing ideological agenda’

The Islamic council accused American evangelical groups and some political figures of promoting what it described as an ideological campaign under the guise of human rights advocacy.

“This is not a human rights campaign,” the statement read. “It is an ideological agenda designed to advance political and sectarian interests in Washington.”

The NSCIA alleged that the campaign intensified shortly after Nigeria reaffirmed its solidarity with the Palestinian people, claiming that certain US senators and diaspora groups were funding lobbyists to circulate doctored videos and unverified data.

It specifically mentioned Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Mike More, and the self-styled Biafra Republic in Exile among those allegedly involved in promoting the false narrative.

“Their concern is not Nigeria’s wellbeing,” the council said. “The ultimate agenda is not just distraction; it is destabilisation.”

Background

For months, campaigners and politicians in Washington have alleged that Islamist militants in Nigeria are systematically targeting Christians. But investigations, including one by the BBC, have found that much of the data used to support these claims cannot be verified.

In September, US television host Bill Maher described the situation as a “genocide,” claiming that Boko Haram had killed over 100,000 people since 2009 and burned 18,000 churches. Similar figures have circulated widely on social media.

The Nigerian government has repeatedly pushed back on these assertions, describing them as “a gross misrepresentation of reality.” Officials maintain that terrorists “attack all who reject their murderous ideology — Muslims, Christians, and those of no faith alike.”

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Security analysts have also noted that while Christians have been targeted in some attacks, there is no evidence of a deliberate campaign to exterminate them.

Christian Ani, a Nigerian security analyst, told BBC that: “While Christians have suffered in the violence, the claim of genocide cannot be justified. Nigeria faces multiple security crises that differ in cause and context.”

Experts add that the conflicts between farmers and herders often portrayed abroad as religious are largely struggles over land, water, and grazing routes, worsened by climate change and weak governance.

“The herders may be mostly Muslim, but they clash with both Muslim and Christian communities,” one researcher told the BBC. “Describing it as jihadism is misleading. It’s largely criminal and economic.”