Trump’s genocide claim fuelling division among Christians, Muslims; Nigerians happy together — Pilgrim Chief

Bishop Stephen Adegbite, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission, has dismissed claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria, warning that such allegations risk deepening divisions between Christians and Muslims.

Speaking at a news briefing in Abuja, Adegbite said Nigeria’s security challenges stemmed from terrorism, banditry, and criminality, not religious conflict. He expressed appreciation for global concern over the safety of Christians, particularly that shown by President Donald Trump, but cautioned against portraying Nigeria’s multifaceted crisis as a faith-based war.

“Christians have suffered deeply, but so have Muslims,” he said. “Churches have been attacked, pastors kidnapped, and families displaced by terrorists and bandits. But Muslim communities have also suffered immensely in Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, and Borno. These crises have claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides.”

Citing data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, Adegbite said more than 20,000 civilians were killed between 2020 and 2025, while the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa recorded 55,910 deaths in 9,970 attacks between October 2019 and September 2023 — including at least 16,769 Christians and 6,235 Muslims.

“These figures make one truth abundantly clear,” he said. “Nigeria’s crisis is not a religious war but a national security emergency.”

Adegbite praised ongoing collaboration between Christian and Muslim leaders through the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council, saying such efforts continue to promote dialogue, unity, and peacebuilding.

“Terrorism has no religion, and banditry has no faith. When one community suffers, the entire nation bleeds,” he said.

While acknowledging the immense suffering across communities, he stressed that the Nigerian government had never sanctioned violence against any faith group but continued to face a complex web of security challenges affecting everyone.

He urged the United States and its allies to focus on partnership, intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism training, and humanitarian support instead of threats of military action.

“Any reckless intervention from abroad could destabilise the entire West African sub-region, triggering refugee crises, economic collapse, and extremist resurgence,” Adegbite warned. “Nigeria’s stability is essential to peace, trade, and democracy across Africa.”

Describing Nigeria as a diverse, multi-ethnic democracy of more than 220 million people and home to Africa’s largest Christian and Muslim populations, Adegbite said the country’s story was one of resilience, not religious persecution.

“When a global figure such as President Donald Trump describes Nigeria’s crisis as Christian genocide, it inflames divisions and misrepresents a nation where both faiths live side by side,” he said. “Nigeria’s story is not one of genocide, but of a resilient people determined to overcome terror, protect their faith, and preserve unity.”

He warned that any foreign intervention based on false narratives could destabilise West Africa, citing the chaos that followed military invasions in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

“We are a sovereign nation,” Adegbite concluded. “We are better off living together and resolving our crises ourselves than inviting external aggression. That is what we must do.”