— _Calls on key Christian figures to undo what they did._
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has recently dismissed claims of an ongoing Christian genocide in Nigeria as peddled by “foreign agents.”
CAN’s Director of National Issues and Social Welfare, Abimbola Ayuba, while debunking the claim said, “Sometimes, our situation is being taken advantage of by groups who know what they benefit from foreign interests.”
However, a faith-based human rights organisation, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) view this attempt especially by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), as not only self serving, but hypocritical.
This was contained in a statement released on Sunday, October 12th, 2025, by the chairman of the Kano State Chapter of the Muslim rights group, Malam Hassan Sani Indabawa. The statement further added:
“The campaign to put Nigeria among the countries with religious intolerance has been going on since 2015, when Muhammadu Buhari, now late, was Nigeria’s president.
“We, at MURIC, therefore, find it difficult to understand the volte-face made by CAN, having been conveniently silent in the past, but suddenly now found its voice.
*”It is evidently clear that the recent outbursts made by some American top politicians and media outlets, was the result of a well-planned and sustained campaign orchestrated by some Christian key figures, in a mischievous and deliberate misinformation campaign. Where then was CAN, all these while?*
“A leading Bishop in Nigeria, Rt Rev Oliver Dashe Doeme, Bishop of Maiduguri Diocese, was among the Christian leadership who blamed former president Muhammadu Buhari and his government for the country’s security crisis, describing it as “genocidal persecution” of Christians.
“Bishop Oliver had in July, 2022, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that, ‘Buhari administration’s failure to tackle Nigeria’s security issues will be reflected at the ballot box in the national elections – including for the posts of president and vice president – which were due to be held in February and March 2023, clearly referring to the elections that brought Bola Ahmed Tinubu to power, albeit with the Muslims’ overwhelming votes, since the Church had done all what it takes to frustrate Tinubu from emerging as Nigeria’s president, ostensibly for contesting under the Muslim/Muslim ticket.
“This was an apparently choreographed, deliberate misinformation and open hate campaign, accusing immediate past administration of targeting Christians residing in the north for killings and persecution.
“The Buhari administration was swift in debunking the false allegations in a series of public rebuttals, mostly signed and released by Garba Shehu, the administration’s spokesperson. However, the aim of the Church, evidently, was to vilify and demonise the Buhari administration. It failed — until now!
“Similarly, as part of the deliberate misinformation campaign, exactly a year earlier, the Bishop of Roman Catholic of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah, had on 13th July, 2022, in a virtual representation to the US Congress in Washington, also descended very hard on late President Buhari, accusing his administration of deliberate targeting of Northern Christians for killings and displacement.
“The Bishop who is member of the National Peace Committee also complained to the US Congress accusing Buhari for deliberately appointing people of his ethnic group and “faith” into political offices.
“Bishop Kukah accused Buhari of nepotism by appointing Muslims as all the security chiefs, thus abetting and aiding the alleged senseless killings of Nigerian Christians. He said, “The whole Northern part of the country was invaded by armed bandits who attack [Christians] without discrimination. The President (Buhari) had shown nepotism in his appointments as he appointed only people who share same religion with him into key political offices like the security Chiefs.” Apart from the federal government’s official denouncement, many commentators exposed Bishop Kukah’s deliberate misinformation, declaring it as hypocritical and mischievous.
“Then the most damaging misinformation campaign was another mischief carried out by Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of Makurdi Diocese, from Benue State. Bishop Anagbe was the most successful in the wave of deliberate misinformation and misleading reports regarding the supposed targeting of Christians in Nigeria as he met with some powerful US lobby groups and was even hosted by a US Congress hearing on March 15, 2025, in which he blatantly fed the Americans with all sorts of lies.
“Bishop Anagbe was another Nigerian Christian figure to alleged “genocide” being committed against the Nigerian Christians, all in their attempts to bring down the Tinubu administration.
“The Bishop took his mischief higher by addressing the European Parliament that Nigerian Christians need an urgent help “before it becomes too late.” Speaking before the European Parliament, Bishop Anagbe described the situation in Nigeria as “nothing short of a Jihad clothed in many names: terrorism, kidnappings, killer herdsmen, banditry, other militia groups etc., and even though the outside world knows the extent of the ongoing killings and displacement of Christian communities in Nigeria, he therefore demanded an urgent help from the European MPs and others.
“Bishop Anagbe had on March 12, 2025 together with Rev Fr Remigius Ihyula, appeared before the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) to further “testify about militants killing and forcibly displacing Christians.”
“As fate, or more accurately, Karma would play out, the past mischief of the Nigerian Christian key figures have now germinated and metamorphosed into a possible policy review by the US government considering designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). The country’s elites, particularly the CAN leadership and other government officials would be worst affected, and they now resort to shedding some shameless crocodile tears.
*”Now the question begging for answer is, where was CAN, all these while, when those Christian leaders were frantically and maliciously dragging the name of Nigeria in the mud?*
“Bishop Kukah has now become one of the most loved darling of Tinubu administration and was appointed Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.
“President Tinubu even boasted of appointing more Christians (62%) into his cabinet, instead of the Muslims, with whose votes he became Nigeria’s president.
“It is therefore very glaring that it is now Karma at play: President Tinubu is doing all what it takes to please the Christian-world and it now turns out that the US is about to sanction the government and put the country into the same category with countries like Afghanistan, China, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Algeria and Uzbekistan due to the demarketing activities of Nigerian Christian leaders.
“The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCRIF) recently recommended to the US Government to ‘Designate Nigeria as a’ country of particular concern,’ or CPC, for engaging in and tolerating
systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).’
“The onus of defence, therefore, now rests on the shoulders of the likes of Bishop Kukah, Bishop Anagbe, Bishop Oliver and their co-conspirators. President Tinubu should now commission and send them back to the US to undo what they did; and for them to admit their deliberate false narrative and mischief for misleading some members of the American Congress.
“By doing so, the US and the whole world would now understand the inglorious and intolerant role the Nigerian Christian leadership has been playing by politicising a crisis that was actually precipitated by the same US that now trying to intimidate the Nigerian government.
“As for us Muslims, save for the corrupt politicians, who would be hit hardest by the US government’s travel restrictions, it is a Karma, at its best.
“Our final call is for Nigerians to recognise our enemies and endeavour to demand accountability from those whose our collective fate were entrusted on them.”
Malam Hassan Sani Indabawa,
Chairman,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
Kano State Chapter.
