The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria, has strongly rejected recent claims suggesting the existence of a religious genocide against Christians in Nigeria, calling such assertions alarmist, misleading, and harmful to national unity.
In a statement signed by its Executive Chairman, Mr. Disu Kamor on Sunday, MPAC dismissed the claims made by U.S. talk show host Bill Maher on his HBO programme “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday, September 26, where he alleged that over 100,000 Christians had been murdered by “Islamists” and more than 18,000 churches destroyed in Nigeria.
The host of the talk show went on to assert that there is “an attempt to wipe out the Christian population of an entire country.”
Describing the remarks as part of a broader Islamophobic narrative, Mr. Disu stated: “These alarmist and unsubstantiated claims, promoted chiefly by ardent Islamophobes in Nigeria and their foreign collaborators, are not only false and misleading but also dangerous to the country’s peace and cohesion.”
He emphasised that Nigeria’s security crisis is complex, rooted in political, economic, and social factors—not religion.
According to him, “Terrorists and criminal groups have killed Muslims and Christians alike, and even those who do not identify with any faith. In fact, more Muslims have been victims of terrorist attacks in Nigeria. For Nigerians—Muslims and Christians alike—every life lost is a national tragedy.”
US role and the need for transparency
MPAC also questioned the role of external actors in Nigeria’s security instability, saying that, “It is important to note that even within the United States, questions have been raised about its role in Nigeria’s security crisis.”
Mr. Disu cited U.S. Congressman Scott Perry, who earlier in the year alleged that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) may have been involved in indirectly funding Boko Haram and other terror groups in Nigeria.
“These serious allegations deserve transparency and scrutiny, rather than silence,” Kamor said, while calling on the Federal government government to conduct an open and transparent investigation into all allegations of terrorism financing and the supply of arms to violent groups, whether Boko Haram, bandits or any other actors.
Gaza: A clearer case of genocide
MPAC Executive Chairman argued that if any group is facing systematic religious genocide today, it is Palestinian Christians and Muslims in Gaza Strip, in Palestine.
He said, “The clearest case in today’s world of Christians being systematically targeted and killed is in Gaza, Palestine. There, Israel — with direct support from the United States and other enablers — has waged a genocidal war that has destroyed churches, starved and killed Palestinian Christians alongside their Muslim compatriots, and uprooted entire communities.
“Most of the bombs dropped on churches and Christian homes in Gaza were provided to Israel by the United States, despite global calls for a ceasefire,” he added.
“Nigeria is not, and has never been, a battlefield between Muslims and Christians,” Mal Disu said in the press release, adding that, “Terrorists target all Nigerians indiscriminately, and both Muslims and Christians have stood — and continue to stand — together in grief, in resistance, and in hope.”
Warns against framing Nigeria’s security crisis as religious conflict
The group leader therefore warned that framing Nigeria’s security crisis as a religious war serves only to embolden terrorists and deepen divisions within the country. “Such distortions are part of the terrorists’ agenda and that of their sponsors—to divide our people along religious lines and undermine our resilience,” Mr. Disu noted.
MPAC called on international media, governments, and human rights groups to exercise caution and uphold accuracy when reporting on issues affecting Nigeria.
“We expect global actors to be consistent in their advocacy for justice and peace, and not allow themselves to be used as platforms for hate-filled narratives that further escalate conflict,” the statement concluded.
Call for unity and global integrity
Mal Disu concluded the statement with a strong appeal for national unity and international integrity.
“We call on all Nigerians to remain united, vigilant, and committed to truth,” the said, urging the international community to resist the temptation of selective advocacy driven by Islamophobic motives and to instead focus on ending terrorism in all its forms — including state-sponsored and state-enabled terrorism, like that currently devastating the people of Palestine.
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