BREAKING: CAN Reaffirms ‘Christian Genocide’ Claim against official Position
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has forcefully rejected claims attributed to the Presidency suggesting that the organization dismissed the widespread violence against Christian communities as a “so-called Christian genocide.”
In a statement signed by its President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, CAN categorically denied using such language during a meeting with Barrister Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy Communication, held on Monday, October 20, 2025.
“That portrayal is completely false and grossly unfair. Referring to the tragedy as a ‘so-called genocide’ trivialises the pain of countless Christians who have lost loved ones, homes, and places of worship in targeted attacks,” the statement read.
Disputed Narrative and Global Attention
The controversy stems from a long-standing debate over the nature of persistent attacks in Nigeria’s Northern and Middle Belt regions. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz recently described the violence as a “Christian genocide,” a characterization the Nigerian government has consistently rejected.
Barrister Bwala’s visit to the CAN Secretariat aimed to understand the association’s stance on this global narrative. While acknowledging that both Christians and Muslims have suffered from insecurity, Bwala emphasized that the current administration inherited the crisis.
However, CAN reaffirmed its position: Christian communities in Northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt have endured “repeated, organised, and brutal attacks” resulting in thousands of deaths and widespread destruction. These incidents, CAN stressed, are not isolated but part of a “continuing pattern of violence that has persisted for years without justice or closure”.
The debate intensified following a report by U.S. fact-finder and former mayor Mike Arnold, who alleged a systematic campaign to eliminate Christianity in Nigeria, citing the razing of villages and churches.
In contrast, political commentator Reno Omokri has consistently argued that while Christians are targeted, Muslims also suffer from violence, and the genocide narrative is often politicized.
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CAN’s President urged media professionals and government officials to communicate with truth, empathy, and responsibility, warning that “careless words can deepen wounds and undermine peace.”
The association reiterated its call for the Federal Government and security agencies to act with urgency, fairness, and transparency to halt the killings and bring perpetrators to justice.
A collective of Nigerian scholars, officials, and analysts has challenged the international narrative of a “Christian genocide,” arguing that it oversimplifies Nigeria’s complex security crisis.
This counter-narrative attributes the violence to governance failures, organized crime, poverty, and socio-economic tensions rather than a coordinated religious extermination campaign. Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar previously suggested that such allegations are sometimes distorted by vested interests aiming to influence U.S. foreign policy.
Analysts like Dr. Majeed Dahiru argue that labeling the crisis as genocide obscures its true drivers, including corruption and climate-induced resource pressures.
Fr. Atta Barkindo of the Kukah Centre emphasized that there is no credible evidence of a state-led campaign to systematically kill Christians, which is the legal definition of genocide. He attributed the failure to protect citizens to poor governance, not religious policy.
Scholars such as Prof. Adam Abba-Aji and Dr. Zannah Hassan Boguma highlighted that Muslims have also suffered grievous losses, often at the hands of terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP, which attack indiscriminately.
Security experts have also questioned the logic of a state-sanctioned genocide, pointing to the religious composition of Nigeria’s security leadership. Despite a Muslim-Muslim presidency, key positions—including the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Inspector-General of Police, Director-General of the DSS, and Chairman of the EFCC—are held by practicing Christians.
“Are we truly to believe that they are complicit in a genocide against their own faith?” Yushau Shuaib, a crisis communicator and public commentator asked.
Experts broadly agree that terrorism and banditry in Nigeria are blind to religion. The same insurgents attacking Christian communities have also assassinated Muslim clerics, destroyed mosques, and killed thousands of Muslims in the North-East and North-West, underscoring that the violence is rooted in criminality and terrorism affecting all Nigerians.
By PRNigeria
