The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, has described the ongoing killings targeting Christian communities in some northern states as nothing short of genocide. Speaking with newsmen in Ibadan on Friday, Bishop Oke said it would be a desecration to the memory of thousands of victims to call the tragedy by any other name.
According to him, the scale, consistency, and brutality of attacks on Christians in several parts of northern Nigeria can no longer be debated. He said the time has come for the government to take sincere and decisive action to stop the bloodshed and protect the lives of innocent citizens. “Where is Leah Sharibu? What happened to the Chibok girls? Chibok is a predominantly Christian community in Borno State. What is going on in Benue State is still on now. Since Donald Trump cried foul against Nigeria on the matter of genocide, many more people are being killed in Plateau State,” the PFN president said.
Bishop Oke noted that the concerns raised by former United States President Donald Trump reflect the reality that many Nigerians are witnessing daily. He clarified that the PFN was not accusing the Muslim community, emphasizing that Christians and Muslims have coexisted peacefully in Nigeria for generations. The problem, he said, lies with violent extremist sects such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and others who use religion as a cover for their acts of terror. “We have been living together for ages in mutual respect and harmony. It is the violent sects that use the name of Islam to attack churches. Hundreds of churches have been burnt down; tens of thousands of Christians have been massacred. Hundreds of pastors have been butchered,” he said.
The cleric added that it would dishonour the memory of victims to deny the reality of what is happening. “It would be a desecration to the blood of these Nigerians to call it any other name. There is not a single instance of a Christian group attacking the Muslims. It is always the other way round. What about the kidnapping of our girls, and they would marry them off without the consent of their parents? This is going on rampantly in the North,” he lamented.
Bishop Oke said those who oppose the term “genocide” are refusing to face the truth. “Now, when Donald Trump said there is genocide against the church and Christians in Nigeria, some people were complaining. There is nothing to complain about. We should properly identify the malaise so we can deal with it effectively. You don’t call cancer a headache. This is something that is consuming our country and giving us a bad name all over the world, and the patience of the church is being stretched,” he stated.
He recounted several unresolved attacks in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, and Southern Kaduna, as well as the Owo church massacre in Ondo State, describing them as a consistent pattern of violence directed at Christian communities. According to him, “To every honest Nigerian, there is no controversy about whether there is genocide against the church and Christians in Nigeria. Hundreds of churches have been burnt, tens of thousands of Christians massacred, and hundreds of pastors butchered. What about Taraba? What about Southern Kaduna? Thank God for the new governor. These are predominantly Christian sections of Nigeria. What about the Owo massacre? Who are the killers? In those cases, there was not a single case of the Christians rising up to kill the Muslims – no.”
The PFN president stressed again that Christians were not at war with Muslims but with extremist groups seeking to destroy national peace and unity. He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act decisively to eliminate terrorist networks operating across the country. “The President must move decisively to eliminate radical groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP so that Nigerians can live in peace,” he said.
Bishop Oke called on world leaders, including Donald Trump, to work with the Nigerian government to find lasting solutions to what he described as a cancer threatening the nation’s unity and reputation. He appealed to Christians across the country to remain prayerful and steadfast in faith despite the increasing persecution, assuring that the Church would overcome through the help of God.
He concluded by warning that continued silence over the killings would embolden the perpetrators and deepen divisions in the country. “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. This is not a time to be quiet; it is a time for the truth to be spoken boldly so that our nation can be healed,” Bishop Oke said.
