…As FG counter US House Committee on Christian
As conversation about the safety of Christians in Nigeria continues to gain international recognition and support, clerics have called on the government and the media to do more in spotlighting and curbing the killings of Nigerians.
According to the clerics, the killings of innocent lives across Nigeria should be treated as a national disaster by the government and the media, without ethnic or religious coloration.
“Nigeria is deadly for Christians, but not the deadliest,” Samuel Olumakinde Alawode, Apostolic Overseer & presiding bishop, Maranatha Chapel International Churches, Ibadan, Oyo State, told BusinessDay.
According to him, the killings across Nigeria have been incessant in some part of the country, and that it is an exaggeration to classify Nigeria as the deadliest place to Christians. “The attack is more in some regions, and that is very pathetic.”
Alawode, who is also the director of media, United International Association of Pentecostal Bishops (UNIAPEB Global) College, added that over the years, the killings in the northern part of the country have not been properly reported.
According to him, the Nigerian press has not reported the killings properly because the government has been suppressing information about Christian persecution.
“So, it has been more of Christian organizations who have been reporting these issues.
“Christians have been persecuted in Nigeria, and it has come into a crescendo that it is very clear Nigeria is very deadly. There is no doubt about it,” Alawode said.
Tom Samson, presiding bishop and General Overseer, Christ Royal Family International, said Nigerians should take collective responsibility for the killings happening in the North.
According to him, much of the information about the killings of Christians in Northern Nigeria has not been well documented by the media.
“We don’t see much of this happening in Lagos. So, a lot of this has been happening in the north. And remember, the political interests, and I don’t know why even the media did not promote it so much. But now, it is glaring, it is obvious, terrible things were happening,” Samson said.
However, Samson disclosed that normalcy could return to the country on the back of the United States House Committees’ congressional report that tagged Nigeria as the deadliest place for Christians.
“So, we should all be blaming the media, the politicians. But thank God, we cannot deny it now. So, every hand should be on deck,” Samson said.
However, the Federal Government (FG) responded to the US congressional report by insisting that the government remains concerned about the loss of lives and destruction of property resulting from criminal acts and extended sympathies to victims and their families regardless of faith, ethnicity, or region.
“The violence being confronted by our security agencies is not driven by government policy or religious bias, but by complex security threats, including terrorism, organised criminality, and longstanding communal tensions,” Mohammed Idris, minister of Information and National Orientation, said in a statement.
According to Idris, the FG has taken note of recommendations contained in the joint report submitted to the White House by the US house foreign affairs committee and the house appropriations committee.
“The Federal Government will continue to engage international partners through appropriate diplomatic channels while remaining focused on its primary duty, the protection of all Nigerians,” Idris stated, adding that Nigeria values its longstanding partnership with the United States and remains open to constructive dialogue rooted in mutual respect and shared responsibility.
According to him, the coordinated military and law enforcement operations have been strengthened across affected regions to address evolving security threats.
He added that ongoing counter-terrorism offensives have degraded armed groups, disrupted kidnapping networks and led to the arrest and neutralisation of key criminal elements.
