Recently, Bill Maher, an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host, in a viral video said, "I'm not a Christian, but they are systematically killing the Christians in Nigeria. They've killed over 100,000 since 2009. They've burned 18,000 churches. These are the Islamists, Boko Haram," he said. "This is so much more of a genocide attempt than what is going on in Gaza. They are literally attempting to wipe out the Christian population of an entire country."
The government of Nigeria has since refuted the claims of Bill Maher. The honorable minister of information and national orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, in a press conference, noted, "The Federal Government strongly condemns and categorically refutes recent allegations by certain international platforms and online influencers suggesting that terrorists operating in Nigeria are engaged in a systematic genocide against Christians—The violent activities of terrorist groups are not confined to any particular religious or ethnic community. These criminals target all who reject their murderous ideology, regardless of faith. Muslims, Christians, and even those who do not identify with any religion have suffered at their hands."
Many Nigerians, especially affected communities in Benue, Plateau, and Kaduna states, church leaders, and a good number of non-governmental organizations have lamented bitterly about repeated targeted attacks on largely Christian farming communities and kidnappings of clergy. They claimed that the violence has taken on an ethnic-religious character that can best be described as genocide. The political class in Nigeria, including Christian politicians, cautions that people should be careful to describe what is happening in Nigeria as genocide.
Voices in the United States and some international advocacy groups, especially conservative politicians like Senator Ted Cruz and Riley Moore, loudly label the situation "genocide" and push for sanctions or foreign policy action. Riley Moore has urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take immediate diplomatic action over what he described as the "systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians" in Nigeria, which he called the deadliest place in the world for followers of the faith.
In a motion presented by Nigerian House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and supported by all members of the House, lawmakers dismissed the narrative of Riley Moore and directed the relevant committees to, within 21 days, collaborate with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Washington D.C., and security agencies to file a formal diplomatic protest on the sponsors of the resolution. The Nigerian Senate is also planning to send delegates to the United States Congress to refute the allegation that there is a Christian genocide in Nigeria.
The White House and the United States Congress are likely to receive a protest letter from House of Representatives and Senate delegates from the Nigerian government to defend that there is no genocide in Nigeria. Who shall President Trump and the United States Congress believe? Who is telling the truth? Does the government of Nigeria have the statistics of the killings in terms of the ratio of Christians killed to that of other religious or non-religious groups killed? And is there evidence to prove that there is Christian genocide in Nigeria?
The United Nations has not recognized what is happening in Nigeria as genocide. According to the United Nations Secretary-General, "The Nigerian government has been struggling with an insurgency that has been killing people, whether Muslims, Christians, or others … whatever assistance is needed should be done with the cooperation of the Nigerian authorities." It can be deduced from this perspective that while Christians do suffer, so do other groups, which complicates labeling the violence as Christian genocide in the legal sense.
President Trump is convinced that there is Christian genocide in Nigeria and warned that he might send the military into Nigeria "guns-a-blazing" unless the Nigerian government intervened and said that all aid to what he called "the now disgraced country" would be cut. Trump had said, "If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!" According to Pete Hegseth, who is in charge of the United States Department of War, "The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities."
Trump's threat triggered alarm across Nigeria and the world over. The Chinese government does not agree with President Trump. According to its Foreign Ministry, Nigeria has the right to choose a development path appropriate to its national realities. It opposes any country using religion and human rights as an excuse to interfere in another country's internal affairs. Chinese officials have rejected the idea of external coercion that comes as sanctions or military threats under the justification of religious persecution. Nigeria and China have established a strategic partnership, and some are of the opinion that it is not out of order for the Chinese government to defend the sovereignty of Nigeria.
The international community should develop a practical checklist to determine the veracity of the claims of both sides. An independent investigation should be conducted on the killings in Nigeria, a methodology that will ascertain the number of killings among every religious group and identify if there were motives of religious or ethnic cleansing behind the killings should be adopted. A comprehensive report of the findings will go a long way in addressing the issue of the alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria.
It is important to note that the wave of terrorism and insurgency has increased alarmingly in Nigeria in the past few days. On Tuesday, November 18, Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara state, was attacked by bandits who killed three persons and abducted 35 worshipers. On Monday, November 17, 25 schoolgirls were kidnapped by unknown gunmen during an attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School Maga, Kebbi State, where the school's vice principal was shot and killed.
Whether the term "genocide" is used to describe what is happening in Nigeria or not, it is important to note that no one deserves to be killed, whether a Christian, a Muslim, a pagan, an animist, or an atheist, because all lives are precious in the sight of God. President Trump and the United States Congress should rely on empirical evidence while looking at the claims of sponsors of the resolution to take diplomatic action against Nigeria, and while reading the protest letter from the Nigerian House of Representatives, or while listening to the Senate delegates from the Nigerian government. The truth about what is happening in Nigeria should be known by the international community, and let the truth set Nigerians free from killings, be it genocide or acts of terrorism, criminality, or the farmers or herders' crisis.
Oscar Amaechina is the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. His calling is to take the gospel to where no one has either preached or heard about Jesus. He is the author of the book Mystery of the Cross Revealed.
