THE Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and the National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Wale Oke, have acknowledged that genocide exists in Nigeria, but clarified that the killings are not targeted at Christians alone.
The comments from the PFN and the Vatican come amid ongoing debates over allegations of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, raised chiefly by several high-profile figures in the United States.
The ICIR reported that several US lawmakers had urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take firm diplomatic action against the Nigerian government over what they described as the “systematic persecution and killing of Christians.”
US Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill aimed at protecting “persecuted” Christians in Nigeria.
However, former senior adviser to US President Donald Trump on Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, dismissed the allegations after meeting with President Bola Tinubu on the sidelines of the Aqaba Process meeting in Rome earlier this month.
He stated that terrorists have killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria and reaffirmed that the United States would continue to collaborate with the country to comprehensively address insecurity.
In an interview with the PUNCH on Sunday, October 26, Oke urged the government to end the killings of both Muslims and Christians, stressing that no Nigerian deserves to lose their life for any reason.
“Our position is that genocide exists, but it is not just about Christians. Our concern is that whether Muslim or Christian, stop the killing, that is our priority. We don’t want Muslims to die, and we don’t want Christians to die,” the cleric said.
Explaining that the government exists for the welfare of its people as a primary responsibility, Oke said that PFN wants to speak truth to those in power to make leaders, whether in the political or any other sector, understand that the welfare of the people is important.
“The government should stop the killings. No innocent Nigerian should lose his or her life for any reason.
“We don’t want a situation where there is genocide against Christians today and then it stops, only for there to be genocide against Muslims tomorrow. What we want is a situation where genocide is stopped entirely — whether among Muslims or Christians,” he added.
Similarly, reacting to growing reports of Christian persecution in Nigeria, the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, said that many Muslims in Nigeria are victims of Nigeria’s insecurity.
He made this remark on Tuesday in Rome during the presentation of a report on religious freedom compiled by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The cardinal pointed to clashes between herders and farmers in Nigeria’s north-central region as an example of the social roots of the violence, emphasizing that the situation should not be viewed as a religious conflict.
“These are extremist groups that make no distinctions in pursuing their goals. They use violence against anyone they see as an opponent.”
At a separate launch of the ACN report in the UK Parliament on the same day, John Bakeni, the Bishop of the Diocese of Maiduguri, noted that some attacks had clear religious undertones, as gunmen targeted churches, priests, and other symbols of Christianity “with impunity.”
Bakeni said that the remarks of the Catholic leaders, come amid growing concern from international lawmakers who have described the situation in Nigeria as a form of Christian genocide.
Bakeni explained that the roots of violence in Nigeria are multifaceted, linking them to issues such as poverty, climate change, and competition over land.
The federal government has consistently dismissed the genocide allegations, insisting that no religious group is being specifically targeted.
The ICIR reported that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has maintained that Christian communities, particularly in northern Nigeria, have faced intense attacks, resulting in loss of lives and the destruction of churches and other places of worship.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.