PFN PRESIDENT WARNS: DOWNPLAYING CHRISTIAN KILLINGS IN NIGERIA DISHONOURS VICTIMS
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The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke, has said that describing the killings of Christians in Nigeria as anything less than genocide amounts to dishonouring the victims of the violence.
Speaking to journalists in Ibadan on Friday, Bishop Oke expressed concern over what he described as the systematic and targeted killing of Christians in parts of northern and central Nigeria. He said the continued attacks, including church burnings, abductions, and killings of worshippers and pastors, were evidence of religious persecution.
“The killings, abductions, and destruction of churches have gone beyond isolated attacks. They have become a coordinated campaign against Christians in Nigeria,” Oke said. “To call it anything other than genocide is to desecrate the memory of those who have been massacred.”
He cited the cases of Leah Sharibu, the Chibok girls, and the lynching of Deborah Samuel as examples of long-standing religious intolerance that had not been adequately addressed.
“Where is Leah Sharibu? What happened to the Chibok girls? What is going on in Benue and Plateau states? Since former U.S. President Donald Trump raised the alarm about genocide in Nigeria, more Christians have been killed,” he added.
Bishop Oke, however, clarified that his comments were not directed at the Muslim community as a whole, emphasising that Christians and Muslims have coexisted peacefully for generations. He blamed extremist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) for the targeted killings.
“Hundreds of churches have been burnt, thousands of Christians killed, and many pastors slaughtered. Yet, there has not been any instance of Christians retaliating or attacking Muslims,” he said.
The PFN leader urged the Bola Tinubu-led administration to take decisive action to end the killings, stressing that the government must not politicise the issue.
“The government should stand up and not play politics with this matter. This is a cancer that threatens national unity and Nigeria’s global image,” Oke said.
He also called for stronger international collaboration, particularly between Nigeria and the United States, to curb terrorism and ensure justice for victims of religious violence.
Observers say Bishop Oke’s remarks reflect growing frustration within the Christian community over what they perceive as insufficient government response to the crisis, even as debates continue over whether the violence constitutes genocide.
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