Coalition cites UN genocide laws, calls for Security Council and ICC investigation; government officials previously denied systematic targeting
By Mike Odeh James
ABUJA,
A coalition of Nigerian Christian organisations on Thursday accused Islamist armed groups of committing genocide against Christians in the country and called on the United States government to intervene using powers under international law.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) and more than a dozen allied Christian and civil society bodies said ongoing killings, village attacks and persecution amounted to a coordinated attempt to destroy Christian communities across northern and central Nigeria. They urged the United Nations Security Council and the International Criminal Court to dispatch investigators immediately, arguing that only independent global bodies can verify the scale of atrocities.
“We affirm without equivocation that there is genocide against Christians in Nigeria,” the coalition said. “This genocide is being perpetrated by Islamic groups, and even as we speak today, it is ongoing.”
Coalition Invokes UN Genocide Convention
The coalition based its claims on Article II of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and Article 6 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which define genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
Christian leaders said denials from some Nigerian officials and Muslim organisations do not alter the legal definition of genocide. They accused critics of attempting to deflect attention from years of documented killings and mass displacement.
“It is laughable that some people think the mere denial of what constitutes genocide translates to its non-occurrence,” the statement said. “Genocide is a crime recognised by international law. Its occurrence can only be established by statutory international investigators, not by rented official mercenaries or agent provocateurs.”
The groups insisted that Christian communities remain the central targets of Boko Haram, ISWAP, armed Fulani militants and other violent actors whose motivations, they argued, are rooted in extremist ideology.
Appeal to the United States Under Responsibility to Protect
In an unusual move for a Nigerian religious coalition, the groups openly welcomed recent comments by U.S. President Donald J. Trump suggesting possible intervention in Nigeria following Washington’s redesignation of the country as a “Country of Particular Concern” over religious freedom.
The coalition said the United States has both a moral and legal right to intervene militarily if necessary, referencing the Responsibility to Protect doctrine adopted by the United Nations in 2005. They cited the 2001 International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, which allows humanitarian military intervention when states fail to prevent large-scale loss of life.
“The sovereignty of any nation ends where its leaders fail to protect the lives of any section of their citizenry,” the coalition said. “The United States is legally protected and guided under international humanitarian law to intervene in Nigeria to stop the ongoing genocide against Christians.”
The Christian groups added that any Nigerian Christian who opposes U.S. intervention “is either a disciple of Judas Iscariot or a Muslim in Christian clothing.”
Criticism of African Union and Nigerian Muslim Groups
The coalition rejected statements by African Union Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, who had cast doubt on genocide claims and argued that Muslims were among the earliest victims of Boko Haram. The Christian leaders said Youssouf had not visited Nigeria or conducted any investigations since assuming office in March 2025, insisting that Boko Haram’s targeting of Muslims does not invalidate what they described as systematic anti-Christian attacks by multiple armed Islamist groups.
They said it is the African Union Peace and Security Council, not the AU Chairperson, that has the responsibility to determine whether genocide has occurred.
The statement also criticised the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and the group Muslim Rights Concern for repeatedly denying Christian persecution. The coalition demanded that MURIC publicly explain its allegation that the Christian Association of Nigeria had “betrayed” President Bola Tinubu, saying the claim must be clarified for Nigerians.
Rejection of Claims About Christian Overrepresentation in Government
The coalition strongly disputed NSCIA’s statement that 62 percent of Nigerian presidential appointees were Christians, calling the claim untrue. It said its own breakdown shows that most high-ranking security and defence officials, including the President, Vice President, national security chiefs and service commanders, are Muslims.
“Demographically, Christians are more in population than Muslims,” the coalition said. “Christians have majority in more states than Muslims in Nigeria today.”
Calls for UN Investigators and International Accountability
The Christian groups said the Nigerian government lacks both the political will and moral credibility to confront armed groups responsible for widespread killings. They claimed some officials have been accused of links to militant networks.
They said only United Nations-backed genocide investigators and the International Criminal Court can establish the truth about mass killings, adding that their findings would expose “brazen assertions” such as the claim by Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi that Christians buried empty coffins to create false casualty figures.
“Amid repeated denials, the most effective way of proving the veracity of Christian genocide is intervention by the appropriate organs of the United Nations and the ICC,” the statement said.
Expressions of Support for International Voices
The coalition thanked global figures who have drawn attention to killings in Nigeria, including Nicki Minaj, Bill Maher, international journalists and lawmakers in the United States, Canada, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Romania.
Signatories
The press conference was signed by the following leaders:
Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, Christian Social Movement of Nigeria
Dr Nwankwo T. Nwaezeigwe, International Coalition Against Christian Genocide in Nigeria
Dr S. D. Gani, National Christian Elders Forum
Elder Sunday Oibe, Lay Faith Trust Foundation
Da Jonathan Akuns, Middle Belt Voice
Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi, Apostolic Round Table
Prof Kontein Trinya, The National Prayer Altar
Rev James Pam, Plateau State Indigenous Independent Ministers’ Association
Engr Mark Lipdo, Stefanos Foundation
Prophet Isa El Buba, Initiative for a Better and Brighter Nigeria
Dr Paul Gadzama, Education Must Continue
Dr Rotimi Olokodana, The Missions House
Pastor Kingsley Ayinde, God’s Sovereign Army of Intercessors
Amb. Immanuel B. David, Voice of Truth Agents
Rev Dr Luke Shehu, Arewa Christian Indigenous Pastors Association
Dr Laide Okafor, Wailing Women Worldwide
Prof Ashong Ashong, Nigerian Christian Graduate Fellowship
Apostle Titilope Oluwadare, Nigeria National Christian Coalition
Reporting by Mike Odeh James in Abuja
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