A campaign group submitted “unequivocal evidence” to the United Nations that violence in Nigeria constitutes a genocide against Christians.
The International Coalition Against Christian Genocide in Nigeria (ICAC-GEN) said its documents refutes the Nigerian government’s account of the violence as the product of clashes between farmers and herders or internal political rivalry.
The submission alleges that Islamist groups – including Boko Haram, ISWAP and sponsored bandits – operate with state-protected impunity to massacre Christians, destroy places of worship and occupy ancestral lands.
Referencing the definitions set forth in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, ICAC-GEN argues that the targeted nature of these killings, coupled with the government’s failure to prosecute perpetrators, confirms a calculated intent to destroy the Christian population.
It further accuses the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of institutional complicity through official denial, dereliction of the “Responsibility to Protect” and flagrant religious discrimination that marginalises Christians within the federal government.
Citing instances such as the reintegration of “repentant” terrorists and the financial patronage of groups like Miyetti Allah, ICAC-GEN asserts that the state is not merely unable but unwilling to halt the atrocities.
The US Congressman Riley Moore, who has repeated allegations of genocide in Nigeria and visited the country to investigate the claims, again asked President Tinubu to act to stop the violence after further killings in recent weeks.
On the night of 26 April, gunmen attacked Gako Village in Riyom, Plateau State in north-central Nigeria, killing a pastor and three members of his family.
The victims were identified as the Revd Ayuba Choji, pastor of an ECWA church, his wife Chundung Ayuba, and their two children, Cyril and Endurance.
Sources in the community said the assailants stormed the village at about 11:00 p.m. and opened fire indiscriminately.
The same day, in a community in western Ekiti State, gunmen killed a pastor and abducted 15 of his worshippers during a church vigil.
A visiting revivalist, Pastor Aregbe, died in the attack on the Christ Apostolic Church in Eda-Oniyo, in the Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
The Eleda of Edaoniyo-Ekiti, Oba Joseph Awolola, the traditional ruler of the area, said the kidnappers demanded ₦1 billion (£540,000) as ransom from the community for the abductees.
The governor of Ekiti State Biodun Oyebanji ordered the suspension of night vigil programmes in churches across the community during a sympathy visit the following Sunday, urging residents to hold religious activities during the daytime until the situation stabilises.
He assured residents that his administration would not tolerate acts of violence, kidnapping or criminality, pledging intensified efforts to secure the release of the victims and prevent further attacks.
Represented by his deputy, Chief Monisade Afuye, Oyebanji described the incident as tragic but expressed confidence in the government’s capacity to restore safety through coordinated action with security agencies.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) demanded the rescue of abducted worshippers, urging swift government intervention to strengthen security in vulnerable communities.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, CAN president Archbishop Daniel Okoh of the Church of Christ International described the incident as “deeply disturbing, to say the least”.
“This is not just an attack on a church; it is a brutal assault on our shared humanity and the sanctity of life,” the statement said, calling on government and security agencies to take immediate and decisive action.