- •SANs, ex-VC, others disagree
Two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), a retired Rear Admiral and a former Vice Chancellor, among others yesterday cautioned against framing Nigeria’s security crisis as a purely religious genocide against Christians.
Retired Rear Admiral Ferguson Bobai, Professor of political science Kayode Soremekun, and SANs Chief Felix Fagbohungbe and Dr Wahab Shittu said the killings affecting multiple regions of the country cut across faiths and require urgent, holistic action from the government.
Their reactions followed the Christian Association of Nigeria’s (CAN) renewed insistence at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Jos that Christian communities in the North and Middle Belt are experiencing “targetted killinga.”
Rear Admiral Bobai, Chairman of the Southern Kaduna Aid Foundation and former Chief of Training and Operations in the Nigerian Navy, rejected the claim.
He argued that available security data show high casualties among both Christians and Muslims across several regions.
“In my opinion, there is a general insecurity in the country,” Bobai told The Nation.
“From available statistics, there are high numbers of casualties from both Christians and Muslims. The perpetrators are terrorists who must be flushed out.”
He distinguished the Middle Belt, saying the violence there is driven by organised land-grabbing by armed herdsmen.
“What is happening in the Middle Belt is a deliberate attack on villages by land-grabbing armed Fulani herdsmen,” he said.
He warned that integrating hardened criminals into society was dangerous.
“You cannot catch these people and say you are integrating them into the system. We need to take them out of our bushes,” he added, citing the killing of Brig.-Gen. Uba as a reminder of the risks.
According to him, the focus on whether Christians or Muslims are being killed misses the core issue.
“The girls kidnapped in Kebbi, are they Christians? We must stop the needless argument and go after the criminals,” he said.
Prof. Soremekun, former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, said CAN’s claim represents only one dimension of a larger, more complex crisis.
“The other version is that just as Christians are being killed, Muslims are also being killed,” he said.
“If we focus exclusively on one version of reality, we are likely to mistake the woods for the trees.”
Soremekun pointed to a more troubling trend: infiltration of security agencies by criminal elements.
He said: “The enemy is not just out there; he is also within. This should be the starting point in solving these twin problems of genocide and terrorism.”
He also accused some political actors of fuelling the crisis and called for decisive action against such individuals.
“It is only when these points are taken seriously that we will begin to see the end of this persistent scourge,” Soremekun said.
Fagbohungbe said that the killings do not follow any religious pattern, insisting that both Christians and Muslims are victims of the violence.
“CAN may see it that way, but I don’t,” he said.
“I think both Muslims and Christians alike are being killed.”
Fagbohungbe cited the case of a Muslim soldier who was ambushed and killed to buttress his point that the atrocities spare no faith group.
The learned silk argued that the government must intensify efforts to halt the killings.
“If need be, the government could seek foreign help to stop the killings and this ugly trend,” he added.
Dr. Shittu noted that Nigeria’s security crisis has spiralled into a nationwide emergency affecting citizens irrespective of religion, ethnicity or social status.
“From Boko Haram and ISWAP terror attacks in the Northeast to rampant banditry and kidnappings in the Northwest and Central Belt, and herder–farmer clashes across the Middle Belt, the violence cuts across all regions,” he said.
He stressed that although certain communities may suffer disproportionate impact, the incidents do not amount to a Christian genocide.
“The violence is indiscriminate and affects all Nigerians,” Shittu said.
While acknowledging that the recent wave of violence has understandably sparked fears of a targeted campaign, the SAN maintained that there is no credible evidence to support the claim that these incidents constitute a Christian genocide.
CAN maintains stance
CAN national leadership insisted yesterday that the alleged Christian genocide in the country must not be dismissed.
Its President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, said Christian communities across Northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt were facing what he described as “Christian genocide”.
He stressed that the association would continue to demand justice, accountability, and adequate protection for Christians nationwide.
Okoh spoke at the Fourth Quarterly National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of CAN in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
He said the violence, mass displacement, and repeated attacks on Christian communities had reached alarming proportions and attracted significant concern from the international community.
Reassuring Christians in the North and other parts of the country, he said: “Our presence in Jos today is not accidental. It is intentional, purposeful, and deeply symbolic. We are here as ambassadors of solidarity, compassion, and moral support.
“We are here to identify with our brothers and sisters across Plateau State and Northern Nigeria who have endured years of persecution, displacement, devastation, and unrelenting insecurity.
“It would be a grave injustice to deny the painful reality of what has transpired – lives brutally cut short, communities uprooted from their ancestral lands, families torn apart, churches razed, and hopes shattered.
“CAN stands unwaveringly by its position that there is Christian genocide in Nigeria.”
Okoh recalled his recent visit to Bokkos, where he met displaced Christians, listened to their stories, prayed with them, and offered relief support.
“We declare with one united voice: You are not forgotten. You are not abandoned. The Body of Christ stands firmly with you,” he said.
The Federal Government in an earlier reaction, following United States President Donald Trump’s genocide claim, said Nigeria faces complex security challenges that affect all communities, irrespective of religion, including Christians and Muslims.
Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said: “The violence, which includes banditry, terrorism, and organized crime, is a broad national security issue and not a targeted religious campaign or “genocide”.
“Criminals do not target one religion alone, and both Christian and Muslim communities have suffered from attacks, displacement, and loss of life.
“Certain international platforms, online influencers, and groups of propagating false narratives with ulterior motives, which risks inciting sectarian conflict and tarnishing Nigeria’s image.
“Government is committed to protecting all citizens and is working to address the security situation and counter false information through the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and other government bodies.”
