By Mike Odeh James
They are circling the wagons in Abuja. After years of media silence about the blooding of Nigeria’s Middle Belt, some of the government’s best and brightest are shooting back.
Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK), a former Nigerian Minister, and a gifted opinion writer, takes umbrage in Premium Times at a Canadian MP warning of “systematic persecution of Christians in Nigeria,” and worse, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and four of this colleagues are pushing a bill to name, shame and sanction Nigeria for years of unbridled persecution. Call in the big guns!
“How come they have suddenly started mouthing this fake battle cry and how come the same rhetoric is suddenly coming out of places like the Canadian Parliament and other Western Capitals? The former minister of aviation asks.
“More importantly, we need to do something to counter the narrative fast. This is because it is spreading like wildfire all over the world, and sadly, people are buying into it,” FFK goes on to say, hinting of a dark motive.
“The truth is that Americans, their allies and local collaborators are carefully and craftily preparing the ground for a religious war in our country, and they want us to tear ourselves apart,” he argues.
However, when responding to foreign critics, FFK insists “There is no genocide in Nigeria; those accusing us are enemies of the state.” His denial of the ongoing tragedy dismisses the voices of the persecuted, betraying them in the name of political loyalty.
FFK argues that claims of Christian persecution are exaggerated, suggesting they are part of a “broader agenda” aimed at destabilizing Nigeria. By his lights, the violence is an indiscriminate national tragedy—where both Christians and Muslims suffer at the hands of terrorists—making the term “Christian genocide” a misleading distraction. Not true.
On the contrary, FFK’s argument that “Christians are not the only victims” ignores a crucial truth: Christian communities are disproportionately targeted by extremist groups.
The Gold standard is the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA). ORFA data shows that predominantly Christian regions such as Plateau, Benue, and Southern Kaduna bear the highest number of attacks. These attacks are not random; they involve land grabs, forced conversions, and the destruction of homes and places of worship.
The Outsized Role of Fulani Ethnic Militia
Fulani ethnic militias have killed more than 43,000 Nigerians over the past 6 years, according to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA). The Fulani, a cattle-herding people spread across West Africa, are linked to regional jihadist conflicts and local terror campaigns
FFK positions himself as a defender of the Nigerian state, arguing that international scrutiny is a foreign-fueled narrative designed to divide the country. This deflection trades truth for political expediency, obscuring the reality faced by Nigeria’s Christian communities. After years of neglect, mainstream western TV as well as social media have realized that another African genocide is slowly unfolding on their watch.
While FFK’s assertions overlook the overwhelming evidence of targeted violence against Christians, particularly in northern and Middle Belt Nigeria. The persecution of Christians is not a myth; it is a documented by international bodies and the suffering communities themselves.
ORFA’s most recent published statistics of terrorist-caused deaths between 2019 and 2024 documented 66,656 deaths across Nigeria, and of these, 36,056 were civilians. “The Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) were responsible for a staggering 47 percent of all civilian killings – more than five times the combined death toll of Boko Haram and ISWAP, which together accounted for just 11 percent of civilian deaths.
As Catholic Bishop Wilfred Anagbe testified in January, 2024 before U.S. lawmakers about the genocide, Christian communities are intentionally targeted by jihadist groups, with the state either unable or unwilling to protect them. He called the attacks a “silent genocide” that requires international intervention.
Open Doors ranks Nigeria among the top 11 most dangerous countries for Christians, citing widespread killings, kidnappings, and the destruction of churches and villages by groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Fulani militants.
FFK argues that these attacks are not religious but are driven by “banditry” and “ethnic violence.” This analysis overlooks the fact that Christian communities in northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt are disproportionately targeted because of their faith. Christians were murdered at a rate 5.2 times higher than Muslims relative to their population size, according to ORFA.
Despite international calls for action, displaced Christians are trapped in dire conditions in IDP camps, with no realistic path to return home. According to UN data, 3.5 million Nigerians have been displaced due to violence, with a significant portion being Christians. Nowhere in Nigeria do we find IDP camps for displaced Muslims.
A major flaw in FFK’s defense is his refusal to acknowledge the Nigerian government’s failure to halt these massacres. While he points to Christian representation in leadership, he ignores the Nigerian government’s consistent inability or unwillingness to protect citizens. The Nigerian military, despite its vast resources, has allowed armed groups to operate with impunity.
Why does all this matter?
The U.S. Congress, members of the Canadian Parliament and concerned Christian activists around the world are expressing horror and concern about Nigeria for a reason: it’s real, not a conspiracy of foreign governments. The United States counts Nigeria as its central ally in West Africa. American believers do not want to see a slow-walking genocide reach its conclusion in West Africa as it did in Rwanda 30 years ago.
Without a doubt, now is the time for Nigerians themselves to raise the alarm about a killing epidemic that can be remediated if the cause of the disease is properly diagnosed. True, there are multiple factors, but the root cause of the killing is jihadist, extremism sprouting up from insurgents and Fulani Ethnic Militia across Nigeria’s North.
Contrary to FFK’s dismissals, Kaduna State’s Rev. John Joseph Hayab, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern States, has consistently spoken out, stating, “Anyone denying that there is no persecution of Christians is lying from the pit of hell. There is huge persecution going on in Nigeria.” Hayab’s testimony is a sobering cry from someone who witnesses the daily suffering of his community.
FFK’s defense of the current government dismisses the terrifying, ongoing persecution of Christian communities. His rhetoric attempts to deflect attention from the hard facts documented by human rights organizations and the desperate cries of Nigerian religious leaders. Not only that: FFK himself has said as much for years. In a 2019 Facebook post, FFK had it right: he acknowledged the violence against Christians, saying, “Christians in Nigeria are facing mass murder and systemic violence. The state’s inability to protect them is a national shame.” And still is.
Mike Odeh James is a Conflict Reporter for TruthNigeria.
