Christian genocide in Nigeria has become a central point of dispute as two major religious bodies in the country describe the violence sweeping across communities in completely different ways. The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria says the pattern of killings shows a clear and targeted assault on Christian populations, while the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs rejects the claim and insists the crisis is part of the wider national security breakdown.
The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Francis Oke, told reporters in Ibadan that what is happening to Christians in some parts of Northern Nigeria can no longer be brushed aside. He pointed to long unresolved attacks and fresh incidents that continue to shake Christian communities. He raised the cases of Leah Sharibu and the missing Chibok girls and reminded the public that Chibok is a mostly Christian community in Borno State.
According to him, the killings in Plateau State fit into a pattern that has lasted for years. He noted that ordinary Muslims are not the problem and that Christians have lived side by side with them for generations. He stressed that violent groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP are the ones using Islamic identity to carry out attacks.
Bishop Oke said hundreds of churches have been burnt over the years and that tens of thousands of Christians have been killed. He added that many pastors have been murdered and entire communities emptied. He argued that refusing to call the situation by its proper name only makes the crisis harder to tackle. He listed attacks in Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, and the Owo church killings to show that the pattern has not changed.
In Abuja, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs gave a different interpretation. The Secretary General, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said the Council studied the situation and found no sign of a religious war. He explained that Muslims have also suffered killings in different regions and that the crisis is more linked to insecurity, poverty, and criminal networks. He warned that foreign governments and groups should not frame the situation as a religious conflict because it can stretch national unity and deepen existing tensions.
Prof. Oloyede said President Donald Trump and some Western voices may have been misinformed and that the genocide label is unfair to a nation fighting terrorism on several fronts.
The NSCIA also accused some foreign based activists of taking advantage of Nigeria’s insecurity for personal or political gain. Prof. Oloyede claimed that some lobbyists circulate edited videos, exaggerated stories, and unverified figures to foreign institutions to create the image of a religious conflict. He said this harms the country and does not reflect what is happening on the ground.
