Broadcast Rules Recast Content on Christian killings as ‘Divisive’ ahead of Elections
By Mary Kiara
(Lagos) – Terrorism – not slavery – is Nigeria’s ‘peculiar institution,’ and as the walk up to presidential elections approaches, Nigerian officials increasingly are at pains to keep public discussion classy. That means public discourse about Nigeria’s peculiar problem of anti-Christian killings should not rock the boat of national unity.
Case in point: a recent dispute between a cleric and a foreign missionary which illustrates a broader effort to control how violence in Nigeria is described and who gets to describe it.
The latest flashpoint began with Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who accused American missionary Alex Barbir of acting as a covert foreign agent promoting religious division.
Gumi alleged that Barbir was advancing a “Christian genocide” narrative to incite conflict and called for his arrest or deportation.
Abiodun Essiet, a presidential aide, echoed the claim.
“He has been removed and sent out of the country because of the work he’s doing, which is creating division,” Essiet said in a television interview.
But the premise of the controversy is already in question.
Babir had left Nigeria days before the accusations gained traction, and no formal charges or evidence have been presented by authorities.
“0 official deportation letter… The US Embassy denies such a claim,” Barbir said in a statement.
“Any deportation of a U.S. citizen must go through the embassy, of which none was made,” he said.
The Real Deal
For the cognoscenti, the significance is not the accusation but the dog whistle it signals.
“Nigerian officials and aligned media outlets are increasingly framing claims of Christian genocide as a threat to national unity,” Aba Anuhe, a retired journalist, told TruthNigeria.
“This is deliberate narrative engineering and state-aligned messaging designed to obscure reality,” Anuhe said to TruthNigeria.
“If describing violence as genocide is considered divisive, then those who use that language can be portrayed as contributors to instability,” he said.
“This is how the government turns truth into a security threat,” Anuhe added.
From Narrative to Enforcement
Days after the controversy surfaced, Nigeria’s broadcast regulator escalated the issue.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) issued a directive warning media organizations against airing content deemed “divisive” or “inflammatory.”
The order emphasized “strict enforcement of rules requiring balance and prohibiting content that could undermine national cohesion, particularly as the country approaches the 2027 elections.”
For journalists, the chilling effect was felt immediately.
“This is all about control,” a Nigerian broadcaster told TruthNigeria, speaking anonymously for fear of sanctions.
“The directive creates a system where only state-approved narratives are safe to broadcast. But it is unconstitutional to limit what the press reports,” the broadcaster said.
“Once you define speech as dangerous, you can regulate it, monitor it, and ultimately silence it.”
Redefining Violence
For years, Nigerian officials have rejected claims that Christians are being systematically targeted, instead describing attacks as mere street crime or so-called communal clashes.
That framing is now expanding from suggestion to prescription.
“This is an attempt to redefine mass killing as mere conflict,” another broadcaster told TruthNigeria under anonymity.
“It is a moral equivalence used to erase victims, and the framing protects perpetrators from accountability,” the broadcaster said.
According to Open Doors International, Nigeria accounted for 3,490 of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith in its most recent reporting period.
Pressure Builds on the Press
Civil society groups say the NBC directive signals a broader shift.
“The NBC’s formal notice represents a dangerous attempt to impose prior censorship on the media,” the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project said in a statement shared with TruthNigeria.
“The imposition of punitive measures based on vague and broadly defined infractions creates a chilling effect on broadcasters,” the group said.
Amnesty International issued a similar warning.
“The Nigerian authorities must stop using the NBC in an unrelenting quest to silence journalists,” Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria’s director, said in a statement..
“These measures threaten independent reporting and democratic accountability,” Sanusi said.
“This is a troubling attempt to muzzle the media,” Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President said in a post on X.
For international policymakers, the stakes extend beyond language.
“Efforts to restrict how violence is described can undermine accountability and obscure patterns of targeted attacks,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in a report.
“Accurate reporting is essential for policymakers assessing religious freedom conditions,” the commission stated.
A Shift Ahead of 2027 Elections
Taken together, the Gumi-Barbir controversy and the NBC directive point to a broader strategy.
Rather than contesting facts alone, authorities are increasingly defining which interpretations are acceptable, and which are not.
“Labeling a missionary as a security threat is a classic tactic used to discredit witnesses,” Anuhe told TruthNigeria.
“If certain language is deemed unacceptable, entire categories of reporting can be pushed outside the boundaries of permissible discourse,” a broadcaster speaking anonymously told TruthNigeria.
“This is not just about words, it is about who gets to define reality.”
Mary Kiara reports on terrorism and religious-freedom policy for TruthNigeria.
