STOP THE MISINFORMATION: NIGERIA IS NOT A SITE OF ANTI-CHRISTIAN GENOCIDE
By: Ahlul-Bayt Community Upliftment Initiative Nigeria
The recent decision by President Donald Trump to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) and lately threatening our dear Nation with military attack under the pretext of alleged genocide against Nigerian Christians is a matter of grave concern to all citizens committed to peace and unity.
This designation and threat, rooted in false claims and mischievous elements, threatens to ignite religious disharmony and destabilize the delicate ethno-religious balance of our diverse nation.
As a Shia socio-political organization dedicated to peace building, community development, and promoting religious harmony, the Ahlul-Bayt Community vehemently disputes the narrative of a targeted Christian genocide in Nigeria.
While we acknowledge and grieve the severe and unacceptable levels of insecurity, violence, and loss of life affecting communities across the country, to frame this as a one-sided religious war is a dangerous oversimplification and a distortion of reality.
A Reality of Shared Suffering
Nigeria is indeed grappling with a security crisis, but the violence is indiscriminate and effects all citizens. In the northern parts of the country, in particular, the casualties among Muslim communities due to the ravages of Boko Haram, ISWAP, banditry, and communal clashes often outnumber the casualties tragically suffered in other regions.
It is a shared Nigerian tragedy, not a genocide targeting a single religious group.
To buttress this point, here are some sequence of terror attacks targeting Nigerian Muslims, some even occurred at their place of worship from 2009 to 2025:
1. Konduga, Aug 2013 – Boko Haram massacred 44+ worshippers during dawn prayers in retaliation for local vigilantes that attacked on them.
2. Potiskum, Nov 2014-Suicide bomber hit Shia Ashura procession, killing 15+ and injuring 50.
3. Kano, Nov 2014-Triple bombing and shooting at Central Mosque during Friday prayers, 81+ killed.
4. Damaturu, Jul 2015- Elderly woman and child bombers struck Eid prayer crowd; -50 dead.
5. Maiduguri, October 2015 – Twin suicide blasts at mosque during evening prayer, 42 killed.
6. Dakasoye, November 2015 – Suicide bomber targeted Shi’ah Arba’een march. 21+ dead, Boko Haram blamed.
7. Molai-Umarari, Mar 2016-Female bombers attacked mosque at dawn; 24 killed, imam survived.
8. Maiduguri, Jan 2017-12-year-old girl bombed university mosque, 4 dead, 15 injured.
9. Mubi, Nov 2017 – Teen bomber collapsed mosque roof during Fajr prayer, 50+ killed.
10. Mubi, May 2018-Twin mosque bombings during Zuhr prayer, 27 dead, 56 injured.
11. Konduga, Jul 2018 – Suicide bomber killed 11 worshippers during early morning prayer.
12. Nganzai, Jul 2019-Boko Haram ambushed funeral group, 65 villagers killed.
13. Mazakuka, Oct 2021 – Bandits shot 18 worshippers during dawn prayers, including Imam.
14. Yasore, Oct 2021 – Bandits attacked Maghrib prayer, 10 worshippers killed.
15. Funtua, Nov 2023 – Bandits opened fire at Maulud celebration; 20 killed, others kidnapped.
16. Zamfara & Borno, 2025 – Imam and 30 kidnapped in Zamfara; ISWAP launched fresh attacks in Borno.
Despite all these attacks, the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria, live in peace and harmony with our Christian brothers and sisters, fostering an environment of mutual respect and coexistence. The false claims of genocide are the handiwork of individuals and groups, both domestic and foreign, who seek to leverage Nigeria’s complexity for political and economic gain, sowing seeds of discord where collaboration is most needed.
A Call for National Unity and Defense of the Homeland
We issue a special appeal to our Christian brothers and sisters across Nigeria. This external rhetoric is a threat against our shared homeland. We call upon the Nigerian Christian community to join hands in debunking this divisive rhetoric and the threat it poses. We must recognize that our common enemies are not one another, but the criminal non- state actors, the terrorists, the bandits, and the western interests who do not mean well to the entire country but seek to break our unity. We urge you to join hands with the government and other well-meaning Nigerians of all faiths in fighting these common enemies. Our strength lies in our unified national identity, and we must not allow foreign voices to define our internal reality for their own political and economic ends.
As it is well known to our Christian brothers and sisters the Shia community in Nigeria and worldwide are advocate of inter religious harmony, understanding and always extend its hands of friendship to all irrespective of faith or ethnic background.
A Call for Caution and Constructive Engagement
We call on President Donald Trump and the US Government to be wary of fueling crisis and religious disharmony among the diverse citizens of Nigeria. Such designations and threat, based on misleading and unverified information, only empower external forces and local agitators whose sole aim is to disaggregate and destabilize the country along religious lines.
To the Federal Government of Nigeria, we urge you to be extremely vigilant of those external forces who are working hard to destabilize our country. Strengthen security, ensure justice, and provide equal protection to all citizens, irrespective of their faith or ethnicity. The challenge is one of insecurity and criminal impunity, which requires a holistic and national response, not a sectarian one.
Furthermore, a necessary step in depending Nigeria’s interest must be taken by reviewing diplomatic appointments. The federal Government must look into the issue of appointing diplomats to critical international posts, ensuring that only highly competent, strategically minded individuals are chosen. These diplomats must be equipped and empowered to aggressively counter false narratives, present Nigeria’s complex security reality accurately, and effectively defend our national interests against hostile designations and sanctions.
An Appeal to the International Community
We call on the attention of the international community to offer meaningful help in tackling the insecurity affecting our country, but not to fuel the situation with inflammatory rhetoric and divisive designations and threat of military action. Nigeria needs support in intelligence sharing, border security, counter-terrorism technology, and addressing the root causes of conflict, poverty, unemployment, and impunity, not political or military moves that will worsen internal divisions.
The Ahlul-Bayt Community remains committed to the unity and peace of Nigeria. We urge all Nigerians to resist the narrative of division and to work together to overcome the criminal elements threatening our collective future. The bond of citizenship and our shared destiny as a nation must transcend the manipulations of those who profit from chaos.
We have no any other country than Nigeria, therefore we should all join hands to salvage our country from any foreign influence that will undermine our collective peace. May Allah (SWT) protect our country.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.