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PFN says hundreds of churches and pastors have been destroyed in nationwide attacks.
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Cleric warns Tinubu administration against “desecrating” the memory of slain Christians.
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NSCIA counters claim, says insecurity affects all Nigerians regardless of religion.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of denying the reality of Christian genocide in Nigeria, describing such denial as a “desecration of the blood” of thousands murdered across the country.
Speaking in Ibadan on Friday, PFN President, Bishop Francis Oke, lamented the recurring attacks on Christian communities in Taraba, Kaduna, Benue, Ondo, and Plateau States, saying the evidence of religiously targeted violence was overwhelming.
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“To every honest Nigerian, there is no controversy about whether there is genocide against the church and Christians in Nigeria,” Oke declared. “Hundreds of churches have been burnt, tens of thousands of Christians massacred, and hundreds of pastors butchered.”
Okin cited several emblematic cases, including the 2022 lynching of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto for alleged blasphemy, the continued captivity of Leah Sharibu since February 2018, and the persistent killings in Benue and Plateau.
He criticised the federal government’s dismissal of the genocide claim following remarks by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who had threatened to intervene over Christian killings.
“It would be a desecration to the blood of these Nigerians to call it any other name,” Oke said. “There is not a single instance of a Christian group attacking Muslims. It is always the other way round.”
READ ALSO: PFN President to Tinubu: Work With Trump to End Christian Genocide in Nigeria
The PFN president clarified that his statement was not directed at the Muslim community but rather at violent extremist groups. “We have been living together for ages in mutual respect and harmony,” he said.
He urged President Tinubu to work with global partners instead of disputing documented reports of persecution. “When Donald Trump said there is genocide against Christians, there is nothing to complain about. What we need is cooperation, not denial,” Oke added, warning against “calling a cancer a headache.”
However, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) rejected the genocide claim, insisting that both Muslims and Christians are victims of the same insecurity ravaging the country.
“There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria. No Muslim genocide. The Nigerian tragedy is that of poverty, climate change, bad governance, and armed criminals who kill indiscriminately,” the Council said in a statement on Monday.
The NSCIA further cited a 2022 report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project, which concluded that violence in Nigeria is not primarily religious but driven by multiple socio-economic and security factors.
