The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has condemned the recent claim of genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
Addressing a press conference at the national mosque in Abuja, the Secretary General of the Council, Ishaq Oloyede, said that while there had been killings in parts of the nation, the attacks were not targeted at Christians alone.
Oloyede, a professor, disclosed that investigations and available information revealed that some unpatriotic individuals had promoted and sold the genocide narrative to the American nation with the main intent of creating disaffection among Nigerians.
He, however, urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to provide adequate security for the citizens.
The council’s reaction came just weeks after a United States lawmaker, Senator Ted Cruz, accused Nigerian authorities of orchestrating genocide against Christians and allowing the destruction of thousands of churches.
Cruz alleged that more than 52,000 Christians had been killed in Nigeria since 2009, and over 20,000 churches and Christian schools had been destroyed.
He also announced the introduction of the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act in the U.S. Senate, a bill seeking sanctions against Nigerian officials he claimed were complicit in religious persecution.
Similarly, Trump recently ordered the Pentagon to map out a possible plan of attack in Nigeria, one day after warning that Christianity was ‘facing an existential threat’ in Africa’s most populous country.
In his post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that if Nigeria did not stem the killings, the United States would attack and ‘it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians’.
Last Sunday, President Trump reiterated his threat of possible military operations in Nigeria over the alleged killings of Christians.
