CAN rejects ‘genocide’ claims, says terror attacks hit all faiths
Story by Susan Mbamah
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has publicly rejected allegations by foreign figures that a Christian genocide is currently taking place in Nigeria, insisting that terrorist attacks lack a religious pattern.
The claims were recently amplified by prominent voices in the United States. US comedian and HBO host Bill Maher stated: “I’m not a Christian, but they are systematically killing the Christians in Nigeria. They’ve killed over a hundred thousand since 2009. They’ve burnt 18,000 churches. These are the Islamists, Boko Haram. 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.”
Similarly, US Senator Ted Cruz accused Nigerian government officials of “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.” He also lamented that Nigerian Christians are being targeted and executed for their faith, adding that they “are being forced to submit to sharia law and blasphemy laws across Nigeria.
It is long past time to impose real costs on the Nigerian officials who facilitate these activities”. The Texas Senator has introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act to the US Senate, which would target these officials with “powerful sanctions and other tools,” calling for those responsible to be held accountable.
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Additionally, US Congressman Riley Moore wrote a letter to the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, urging him to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
He also urged Rubio to halt arms sales and all associated technical support until the Nigerian government demonstrates a commitment to ending “this reign of persecution and slaughter against Christians.”
Bullets Don’t Look for a Christian or Spare a Muslim
When contacted, the Christian Association of Nigeria’s (CAN) Director of National Issues and Social Welfare, Abimbola Ayuba, acknowledged that killings were rampant in the country. However, he dismissed the assertion that the attacks are directed solely at Christians.
Ayuba clarified the organization’s position, stating: “All I will say to you is that empirical facts exist all over the space about the spate of killings in Nigeria. The pattern of killings has truly not been in a particular pattern.
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In some Christian-dominated states like Benue, it will appear as if Christians are being killed. But this same insurgency has claimed several Muslims in their early morning prayers; they attack them in their mosques, slaughter them, kidnap people and do a lot of things.”
Ayuba suggested that some local groups may be exploiting the situation for foreign interests:
“Sometimes, our situation is being taken advantage of by groups who know what they benefit from foreign interests. Those foreign interests have a right to poke their noses into what’s going on in our system, but we also have a right to report things as they are.”
He stressed that the violence is non-discriminatory:
“Yes, it’s concerning that this insurgency is lasting too long. Also, the spate of killings does not take any pattern. If they open fire in a marketplace, the bullets don’t look for a Christian or spare a Muslim or even spare a baby.”
Ayuba concluded by advocating for an internal solution and questioning those who seek foreign intervention:
“So, all we must be doing now is adopt an all-of-society action to stop this insurgency and also address issues of groupthink. Why run to America when you have a Senate here where you can file your petition? In the end, when they place Nigeria as a country of particular interest, all of us will suffer. But those who run abroad to look for sympathy know why they do that.”
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