Trump
NSCIA rejects U.S. “Christian genocide” claim, calls for unity
ABUJA – The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has issued a strong rebuttal to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a “disgraced” nation facing a “Christian genocide,” calling the claims unfounded and a potential pretext for destabilization.
In a press conference addressed by its Secretary-General, Ishaq Oloyede, the NSCIA appealed directly to Nigerian Christians to reject attempts by foreign actors or domestic separatists to exploit the country’s security crisis for divisive ends.
The council argued that the situation does not meet the legal definition of genocide, which requires a specific intent to destroy a religious group. It stated there is no evidence of such intent in Nigeria.
The NSCIA emphasized that the nation’s security crisis causes “immeasurable pain to all its citizens, regardless of faith.”
It cited violence affecting both Muslims and Christians in states like Katsina, Borno, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, and Kwara.
The council referred to international organizations who support its position, quoting Amnesty International’s Nigeria director, who said Trump lacked “facts” and a “good briefing,” and a researcher from Good Governance Africa, who stated there is “no credible evidence of a state-led… campaign to exterminate Christians.”
The council’s message to Nigerian Christians was one of solidarity. “You are not our enemies; you are our compatriots, colleagues, and neighbours,” Oloyede said. “We are both… victims of a failed security architecture and a brutal criminal insurgency that targets us all.”
It reaffirmed a shared commitment with Christians to a Nigeria where “religious freedom and tolerance” are core tenets, as stated by President Bola Tinubu.
The NSCIA outlined two primary, non-religious drivers of the violence:
1. Ecological Crisis: It pointed to climate change, desertification, and drought in the north, which have triggered a southward migration of herders into competition with farmers over scarce land and water resources.
2. Criminality: The council cited banditry fueled by poverty, youth unemployment, drug abuse, porous borders, and the proliferation of small arms. It also acknowledged that governance failures and corruption have enabled violence to persist.
The NSCIA condemned Trump’s language and the threat to Nigerian sovereignty, clarifying that Muslims have not framed the killings of Muslims as a religious war but as a national security issue.
The council called on the international community and press to reject the “false, dangerous, and destabilising narrative.”
It, however, urged the government to redouble security efforts, hold instigators of division accountable, and engage the U.S. with “dignity and honour.”
It said President Trump should retract the “disgraced country” label and instead offer “credible intelligence” and partnership to help Nigeria overcome its security challenges.
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