… Criticises FG’s failure to identify local actors behind false narratives
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Saad III, has accused some individuals allegedly linked to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of being responsible for the persistent negative image Nigeria suffers on the global stage.
In a press statement issued on Friday by her Deputy National Legal Adviser, Imam Haroun Muhammad Eze, Esq., the apex Muslim body stated that these individuals have turned “self-flagellation into a business”, deliberately painting the country in a bad light to gain material benefits, international recognition, and sympathy from foreign actors.
Muslim News gathered that CAN had earlier refuted allegations of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, as claimed by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and other foreign actors. This clarification came through its Director of National Issues and Social Welfare, Abimbola Ayuba, who acknowledged that both Muslims and Christians have been victims of indiscriminate terrorist attacks across the country.
However, the Christian body later appeared to reverse its position. In a subsequent statement, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, CAN President, acknowledged that many Christian communities particularly in northern Nigeria have endured severe attacks, loss of lives, and destruction of places of worship.
The Council faulted CAN’s latest position, saying it is common knowledge that the negative profiling Nigeria currently suffers all around the world is largely the aftermath of the activities of some Nigerian citizens (now revealed as agents of the Christian Association of Nigeria) who have found a big business in self-flagellation.
The NSCIA described such activities as bordering on treason, accusing the actors of manipulating religious sentiments and promoting false narratives of persecution in exchange for international attention and financial gain.
Criticises FG’s failure to identify local actors behind false narratives
The apex Muslim body also expressed its surprise that the Federal Government chose to embark on what it described as an “otiose voyage” by merely appealing to the international media and commentators to act responsibly, avoid sensationalism, and support Nigeria’s efforts against terrorism and criminality—without directly identifying or addressing the local originators of the false genocide narrative.
Imam Muhammad Eze, Esq. noted that this omission weakens the credibility of the government’s defence and fails to confront those within the country who are allegedly fueling the negative international profiling for personal or political gain.
He stated that, without a shred of doubt, the world is aware that certain political desperadoes and religious irredentists have been making desperate efforts to plunge Nigeria into a religious war.
According to him, during the buildup to the 2023 presidential election, a particular presidential candidate was caught in a leaked audio recording telling an Islamophobic religious leader that the election was a religious war.
“When they failed miserably at the project to set Nigerians against one another while banking on external support, they began seeking to delegitimise the government in power by venting lies, projecting persecution and victimhood to the global audience while being the masquerade behind the insecurity in the land,” he noted.
Portraying terrorism as anti-Christian agenda is ‘plainly mendacious’
The Deputy National Legal Adviser emphasised that portraying terrorism in Nigeria as an anti-Christian agenda is “plainly mendacious,” adding that the religious identities of the terrorists are often conflated for propaganda purposes.
He referenced the U.S. State Department’s 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom, which confirms that terrorists, bandits, and armed criminal groups in Nigeria attack both mosques and churches indiscriminately.
Imam Muhammad Eze, Esq. further cited data from the first half of 2025, which shows that no fewer than 2,266 civilians—mainly from Muslim-majority Northern Nigeria—have been killed by terrorists and bandits, with over 2 million displaced and 7.8 million people in need of urgent aid.
He added that even the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 2025 Annual Report acknowledges the widespread attacks on both Muslim and Christian communities—despite what it described as a noticeable bias in the report’s framing.
Why we remain silent – NSCIA speaks on restraint amid provocations
Deputy National Legal Adviser said its silence in the face of repeated provocations, falsehoods, and attacks against Muslims is a deliberate act of restraint aimed at safeguarding the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria.
He noted that despite the barrage of insults and baseless allegations hurled at Muslims, it has chosen the path of patience and wisdom to prevent the country from descending into religious chaos. “Whenever arrant falsehood or sheer subterfuge becomes fashionable, recourse to reason and rational thinking becomes a categorical imperative,” the Council said.
Citing recent examples, NSCIA recalled how in March 2025, Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi raised what it described as a “false alarm” before the U.S. Congress, calling for Nigeria to be redesignated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to alleged “Islamist” attacks on Christians.
He also pointed to a similar unfounded allegation by Rev. Joseph Hayab, Chairman of the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who it said has repeatedly pushed a biased narrative that paints Nigerian Muslims as aggressors, despite overwhelming evidence showing that both Christians and Muslims have been victims of widespread violence.
The Council is, however, extremely disappointed by the false proclamation of the CAN President, which has now clearly revealed that those individuals pushing the baseless narrative of persecution were, in fact, acting out the script of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
Imam Muhammad Eze, Esq. said the development confirms that the campaign of falsehood accusing the Nigerian government and Muslim community of sponsoring religious violence was neither random nor innocent, but rather a coordinated effort driven by religious bias and political interest.
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