NACOMYO Slams ‘Christian Genocide’ Claims, Urges Unity
By: Abudu Olalekan
Lagos, Nigeria – The air in the NACOMYO office crackled with urgency. Alhaji Sani Suleiman, the group’s president, leaned forward as he read the latest headlines. “Christian genocide in Nigeria,” the articles blared. His brow furrowed. “This has to stop,” he thought.
On Thursday, the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) fired back. They called the “Christian genocide” claims false—reckless, even. A statement signed by Suleiman and National Secretary General Alhaji Masud Akintola hit the wires, calling the allegations “inflammatory” and “dangerous distortions” of Nigeria’s messy security landscape.
NACOMYO’s message? The violence isn’t about religion. It’s terrorism. Banditry. Fights over resources. Both Christians and Muslims have bled. Both have lost.
They pointed to the 2023 US State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report. “Extremist attacks in Nigeria are indiscriminate,” it said. Bullets don’t check IDs, NACOMYO argued. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) even backed this up—sort of. CAN’s Rev. Abimbola Ayuba once said, “The killings don’t follow a pattern. Bullets don’t pick Christians or spare Muslims.” That quote? A knockout punch against the genocide narrative, NACOMYO said.
Numbers get thrown around like confetti. “Over 100,000 Christians killed!” “18,000 churches burned!” But NACOMYO called them fabrications. No credible source, they said. Just hot air.
And here’s the kicker: The group warned these wild claims are part of a bigger game. Foreign disinformation, amplified by locals. Why? To get sympathy, funding. To make Islam look bad.
NACOMYO didn’t stop there. They linked the surge in “genocide” talk to Nigeria’s support for Palestine at the UN. Retaliation, they said. A way to weaken Nigeria’s standing globally.
But the council also gave a nod to CAN officials who’ve been balanced. The ones who said, “We’re all victims here.” They urged CAN’s top brass to be more careful—patriotic, even—in what they say.
What’s the fix? NACOMYO wants the government to step up. Tackle insecurity. Fight poverty. Expose the liars spreading lies. And get churches and mosques talking—real dialogue.
They also want Nigeria to push back against foreign groups using the country’s pain for their own ends.
“ Nigeria’s crisis isn’t a religious war,” the statement said. “It’s terror. Greed. Bad governance.”
And to the youth? Don’t let anyone divide you. Muslims and Christians, side by side.
NACOMYO made one thing clear: Islam doesn’t preach violence. Most Nigerian Muslims? They just want peace. Coexistence.
The room fell quiet as Suleiman finished reading the statement. Outside, the city buzzed on. But inside, hope lingered—that maybe, just maybe, the truth would cut through the noise.
