Christian genocide: PFN, Islamic council in verbal crossfire

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, on Sunday, dismissed the allegation of Christian genocide in Nigeria, describing it as false, dangerous, and politically motivated.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the NSCIA’s Secretary-General, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, accused the Western media and political figures of trumpeting the allegation of Christian genocide as part of an alleged coordinated campaign to destabilise Nigeria.

But the President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Wale Oke, insisted that, “There is Christian genocide in Nigeria.”

“There is no other name to call it. No Christian group is attacking Muslims. Patience of the church is being stretched,” Oke said during a visit to the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at the weekend.

The debate comes in the wake of Nigeria’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” by the United States President Donald Trump.

In a series of posts on X between October 31 and November 1, Trump had condemned continued killings in Nigeria, declaring America’s readiness to send its military to Nigeria if the Federal Government failed to stop the killings by jihadist groups.

But addressing the press in Abuja on Sunday, the NSCIA maintained that the violence in parts of the country was driven by criminality, poverty, and climate-induced migration, not religious persecution.

We affirm that in Nigeria, there is no Christian terrorism. There is no Muslim terrorism. There is no religious intolerance in Nigeria.

The Nigerian tragedy is that of poverty, climate change, bad governance over time, and armed criminals who kill indiscriminately while a section of the world seeks to exploit the situation for geopolitical profits,” Oloyede said.

The NSCIA Secretary accused some Nigerian separatist groups, foreign lobbyists, and U.S. politicians of exploiting Nigeria’s insecurity for personal or political gain.

“These groups push fabricated statistics and doctored videos to influence Western governments, particularly the United States, to take punitive actions against Nigeria,” he said.

He further alleged that the renewed U.S. designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” was “a political tool, not a reflection of facts on the ground.”

The NSCIA called on both the Nigerian government and the international community to reject the “false and destabilising narrative,” urging President Trump to “assist Nigeria with intelligence and logistics support rather than smear campaigns.

However, the PFN President, Oke, during his visit to the Olubadan, insisted that, “There is Christian genocide in Nigeria. There is no other name to call it. No Christian group is attacking Muslims. Patience of the church is being stretched.”