Nigeria’s worsening crisis is once again under international scrutiny after a top African Union official dismissed claims of Christian genocide – a statement that drew sharp reactions from Washington.
The dispute comes amid a years-long wave of killings, kidnappings and village attacks in northern and central Nigeria that Christian communities say have reached crisis levels.
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At least 51 Christians were killed in a new attack in Nigeria’s Plateau state. (Reuters)
Asked by a reporter about President Donald Trump’s recent threats against Nigeria over the persecution of Christians, African Union Commission Chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf dismissed the genocide accusations, telling reporters at the United Nations: “Let me say this first: there is no genocide in northern Nigeria,” he said from the podium at UN headquarters. Youssouf continued: “We have issued a notice making it clear that what is happening in the northern part of Nigeria has nothing to do with the kind of atrocities we are seeing in Sudan or in some parts of eastern DRC.”
He continued: “The first victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, not Christians, and I say this with documented references.” Youssouf said the situation is “extremely complex” and warned international actors not to reduce it to a single story. “The complexity of the situation in Northern Nigeria should not be taken lightly nor described in overly simple language,” he said, reiterating: “There is no genocide in Northern Nigeria.”
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Funerals for about 27 Christians allegedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in Bindi Ta-hoss village, Nigeria. (Courtesy: Christian Solidarity International (CSI))
“Nigerian officials know that their policies have created an environment in which Christians are persecuted and slaughtered, including their enforcement of Sharia law and their tolerance of Islamist violence. Rather than reverse these policies, they are waging a media campaign to escape exposure and accountability. I intend to prevent them from doing so.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on March 23, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)
Women and children held captive by Islamic extremists and rescued by the Nigerian military are seen arriving in Maiduguri, Nigeria, on Monday, May 20, 2024. Hundreds of hostages, mostly children, whose mothers were held captive and forcibly married by Islamic extremists in northeast Nigeria have been rescued from their main forest enclave and handed over to authorities, the West African nation’s military said late on Monday. (AP Photo/Jossy Olatunji)
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On Capitol Hill, some lawmakers are pushing for even stricter measures. Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., said the United States could take a range of actions — including sanctions and “even kinetic military action” — in response to what he called the “genocide” of Christians in Nigeria. Trump has appointed Moore, a member of the Appropriations Committee from West Virginia, along with Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., to lead an investigation into the killings of Christians by Islamic militants in the African country.
